More than that, from its long disillusioning experiencewith the West, Syria has a profoundly jaundiced view of contemporary international order, recently much re-inforced, which it sees as replete with double standards. Syrians observe that international law is selectively en-forced, typically against Arab or Muslim states while Israel is routinely exempted from the standards expect-ed of other states (notably, the prohibition of the acqui-sition, settlement, and ethnic cleansing of territory byforce). In the eyes of Damascus, the Iraq war showed how the strong “take the law into their own hands;” thatwar convinced the Syrian ruling elite that, after a brief period in the 1990s when a new world order seemed to be emerging, the world had regressed to a “lawlessjungle,” as then Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaaput it. Syria sees itself as systematically treated un-fairly—e.g., Syria’s chemical deterrent force is targeted by the West while Israel’s nuclear one is accepted. As Damascus sees it, it’s a Machiavellian world: whether a state’s interests are respected depends on having the power to defend those interests. A Syrian leader mustplay by the rules of such a world, combining enough of the coercive power of the “lion’” with the guile of the“fox,” as the Florentine writer advised. What this meansis that great-power-engineered demands, advanced inthe name of the “international community,” enjoy nomoral high ground or normative legitimacy in Syria.Equally important, however, for understanding whatSyria does is its pervasive sense of insecurity. It is asmall state surrounded by states which, at one timeor another, have been seen as a threat.
Posted on: Tue, 03 Sep 2013 22:32:39 +0000
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