A Way Out of the Civil War in Syria
Power Sharing instead of a Regional Conflagration
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
In Syria, the civilian uprising against an authoritarian regime has become a civil war and proxy war. There is a risk that the conflict could escalate and turn into a regional conflagration. Neither military intervention from abroad, nor a one-sided military victory offers a solution. Each risks expansion of the conflict. Only a political solution with the inclusion of external mediators such as Russia and Iran can offer a way out. The goal should first be power-sharing. After that, it would be a matter of creating integrating government structures. Lebanon offers a model. There, a fifteen-year civil war was ended with the compromise formula “no victor, no vanquished”.
(Osteuropa 9/2013, pp. 3–16)