Lecture: New War in Syria

The introduction week of SIB-Amsterdam will take place from Monday 15th of September to Thursday 18th of September. During this week we will organize various academic, as well as social activities surrounding the theme ''New Wars''. This lecture, unlike the other activities, will be held in English.The term New War is aimed at an international or civil conflict that involves countless transnational and non-governmental connections, complicating the distinction between internal and external actors. New wars are largely based on identity politics and often include movements which mobilize around ethnic, racial or religious identities for the purpose of claiming state power. Thus contrasting to the conventional means of warfare between two or more states. The war in Syria is a prime example of a New War due to several factors. First of all because of the civil character of the war: the participating actors have both domestic as well as transnational characteristics, such as the rebel groups and the UN. Another factor identifying the conflict in Syria as a New war is the fact that the sectarian agitation is at the center of the conflict due to the government's association with the country’s minority, the Alawites, whereas the majority of the population is Sunni.Our list of speakers includes, amongst others, Jan Jaap van Oosterzee of PAX. Jan Jaap van Oosterzee is the Senior Advisor of the Public Affairs Middle East department of PAX. He will discuss how the international community influences New Wars.Join us on Monday September 15, 20:00hrs at CREA Theaterzaal!