The conflict in Syria, which ongoing since 2011, has been one of the world’s most devastating. Yet, little is known about how Syrian society lives and strives to overcome the ordeal. This talk offers an insight into society that has experienced the conflict first-hand, and is based on research in Syria in 2018 – early 2020. It argues that an “uneasy peace” that stays strained, but nevertheless holds, is emerging and likely to prevent the war from recurring. This is not a textbook ‘liberal peace,’ but the one which emerges out of the conflict milieu. The road to peace is not easy, and multiple obstacles lie in the way, but they rather affect the quality of peace than its outcome. It is argued that the war origins and pre-war contestations only partially explain the present, whereas new forces and attitudes have emerged in the country that drive towards peace, giving Syria a chance.

SPEAKER

Dr Anna Matveeva is a Senior Visiting Research Fellow at King’s College London, Russia Institute. She published extensively on the issues of peace and conflict, including ‘Syria’s Uneasy Peace: Where does it come from?’ (Conflict Resolution Quarterly, 2021) and Through Times of Trouble: Conflict in Southeastern Ukraine Explained from Within (Lexington Books, 2018). Dr. Matveeva worked for the United Nations and other international organisations in different parts of the world affected by violent conflict.