Syrian Civil War
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The West and the Islamic world
The despotic temptation
Unable to contain the violence, suffering, and chaos engulfing the Middle East and North Africa, Western leaders are falling back into the Cold War trap. All they want is for someone – and now virtually anyone – to enforce order. By Ana Palacio
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Navid Kermani′s Peace Prize acceptance speech
Freeing Islam from the clutches of the fanatics
For the first time, Germany′s most important cultural prize has gone to a child of Muslim immigrants, the German-Iranian writer and Islamic studies expert Navid Kermani, born in 1967. According to Stefan Weidner, his combative speech may well go down in history
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Solutions to the Syrian conflict
Diplomacy rather than deadlock
Only diplomatic negotiations can bring about an end to the bloodshed in Syria. These talks must take place now without preconditions and involve both the Assad regime and the authoritarian Russian leadership. A contribution to the debate from Niklas Kossow and Ilyas Saliba
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Russia′s air strikes in Syria
Courting the aggressor
Putin′s involvement in Syria means an extension of the conflict. Prompting tens of thousands to flee, his air strikes are clearing a path for Assad′s death squads. Any hope of creating effective safe zones is now gone. By Bernard-Henri Levy
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Interview with Rafik Schami
"Escape is a life-saver"
In conversation with Ruth Renee Reif, the renowned writer Rafik Schami gives his views on the European refugee crisis and has sharp criticism for the West's political dealings with the Assad regime in Syria
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Volker Perthes: "The end of the Middle East, as we know it"
The end of Sykes-Picot?
Almost a century ago, France and Britain carved up large swathes of the Middle East between them. Now the order imposed by the Sykes-Picot Agreement in 1916 appears to be disintegrating. In his new essay, Volker Perthes outlines the reasons for this development and suggests potential scenarios for the region. A review by Anne Allmeling
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The global risks of an imploding Middle East
A region in flames
Among today′s geopolitical risks, none is greater than the long arc of instability stretching from the Maghreb to the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. With the Arab Spring an increasingly distant memory, the instability along this arc is deepening. An analysis by Nouriel Roubini
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Juergen Habermas awarded Kluge Prize for Philosophy
″Asylum is a human right″
What holds society together and what's our role in it? Philosophers Juergen Habermas and Charles Taylor have recently been honoured in the US for their work on these issues. By Klaus Kraemer and Stefan Reccius
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Combatting Islamic State
Foreign fighters ″crusade″ against IS
IS may have proved adept at attracting foreign nationals to its cause, but many have also joined up to fight the pseudo caliphate. And there′s no lack of religious fervour among the ranks either – some see it as their Christian duty. By Manar Ammar
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Portrait of the Syrian intellectual Sadiq al-Azm
Critical philosopher and political activist
Though Damascene born and bred, al-Azm is a true cosmopolitan - with no nostalgia for his mother′s baking, no tears shed over the good old days, and no longing for the fresh scent of jasmine so reminiscent of Damascus. He has always preferred personal freedom with all its associated risks to the comfort of a familiar environment. By Yassin al-Haj Saleh
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An interview with Syrian author Samar Yazbek
″The Crossing: My Journey to the Shattered Heart of Syria″
Pen Pinter prizewinner Samar Yazbek talks to Rosa Gosch about her latest book, ″The Crossing: My Journey to the Shattered Heart of Syria″, the current situation in her home country and her expectations of the West
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Kristin Helberg goes on record about the Syrian conflict
″We need an alternative to Assad″
At the recent EU summit on refugees, German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that she was willing to take part in talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. In an interview with Wolfgang Dick, Middle East expert Kristin Helberg warns against misinterpretation