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Event

Statelet of Survivors: The Making of a Semi-Autonomous Region in Northeast Syria

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Statelet of Survivors The Making of a Semi-Autonomous Region in Northeast Syria

RSVP

The Institute for Security and Conflict Studies and the Institute for Middle East Studies will be holding a book launch for Statelet of Survivors: The Making of a Semi-Autonomous Region in Northeast Syria with the author, Amy Austin Holmes as part of the Elliott School Book Launch Series. Comments will be provided by Ambassador Bill Roebuck, who previously served as Deputy Special Envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS. The book analyzes the creation of a semi-autonomous region in Syria as a de facto statelet, based on fieldwork conducted over a period of seven years in Syria and includes original survey data of more than 400 rank-and-file members of the Syrian Democratic Forces, the US partner force who defeated the Islamic State. Novel insights are offered into how minorities have secured their survival in the face of atrocities. To save 30% on the book, order online with the code ASFLYQ6 from Oxford University Press. This event will be held in-person at 1957 E Street NW, Lindner Family Commons, Room 602.

Speakers

  • Amy Austin Holmes is Research Professor of International Affairs and Acting Director of the Foreign Area Officers Program at George Washington University. Dr. Holmes has published widely on the global American military posture, the NATO alliance, non-state actors, revolutions, military coups, and de-facto states. With more than 15 years global experience conducting research in the Middle East and Europe, including various conflict zones, she is a noted expert on issues of American foreign policy and international security. Dr. Holmes earned her Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University, and previously served as a tenured Associate Professor at the American University in Cairo. She has held Visiting Scholar positions at Harvard University’s Belfer Center, the Weatherhead Center also at Harvard University, and at Brown University’s Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs. Dr. Holmes is the author of three books and more than 50 articles.

  • Ambassador William “Bill” Roebuck is the executive vice president of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. He most recently served as the deputy special envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS and a senior advisor to the Special Representative for Syria Engagement Ambassador James Jeffrey. Prior to his appointment, Roebuck served as a senior advisor to Special Presidential Envoy Brett McGurk from January to December 2018.