Chemical weapons outrage?

In advance of this Friday's colloquium: the civil war in Syria, Oatmeal style (click to view). 

To access the poster (including the full programme) for the colloquium, please click the link on the right-hand side of the page, or scroll down to find it in an earlier post.

The Duke of Hazard? Colloquium speaker writes on Turkish foreign policy, Syria and 'moral hazard'

With just a week to go until the colloquium, one of our speakers, Dr. Burak Kadercan, has written a piece for openDemocracy on Turkey's Middle East foreign policy, with a particular focus on the 'moral hazard' involved in Ankara's position on Syria and dealings with rebel groups there. Check out his article here.

Truth dies first?

With less than two weeks to go until the colloquium, events in and around Syria remain fast-changing and unpredictable. However, in what has very often been referred to as a 'media war', it is perhaps unsurprising that footage uploaded to YouTube last week purporting to show Liwa al-Islam rebels in Syria launching the very chemical attack that became the basis for threats of a US-led military intervention has come in for considerable scrutiny and criticism.

The fact that the barrel of the 'rebel' artillery weapon depicted in the video is helpfully draped in an identifying flag, while the rebels themselves continuously, if rather dispassionately, repeat 'Allahu Akbar' throughout the proceedings has led to speculation that this video was created by government forces, or perhaps even a rival rebel group.

In an era where wars are played out, at least on the international stage, through YouTube, Twitter, blogs and news media, the old adage (of disputed origin) that 'truth' is the first casualty of war seems more relevant than ever. Both the Assad regime and the rebel groups are undoubtedly seeking to not only shape the representations of the conflict that appear through major international news outlets, but also to produce their own propaganda, illustrated with photos and videos, for direct dissemination via YouTube and blogs.

Though military intervention in Syria perhaps looks increasingly unlikely, the justificatory resources upon which the Obama administration drew in making the case for an attack were premised wholly and exclusively upon the perceived veracity of one version of events; the 'truth' that the Assad regime used chemical weapons against rebels and civilians in Damascus.

But who decides on the 'true' version of events, and on what sort of basis? In whose interests does any particular 'truth' work best? In a world where propaganda wars have moved on from pamphleteering - where there is now the potential for even the smallest of groups to produce and quickly (and globally) disseminate relatively sophisticated multimedia products - how are we to judge or think about the 'evidence' which is presented as the basis for possible military action? What problems arise when film becomes a form of evidence of war crimes, and how far do cinematic themes of narrative, framing and characterisation figure in the production and interpretation of video 'evidence'? Are all representations of events in war 'staged' in some sense? And, given the special difficulties associated with establishing a reliable version of events during armed conflict, can we trust that the 'chemical attack' is the 'real' basis for proposed action at all? If not, what other factors have been behind Obama's push for intervention?

These are just some of the questions we hope to address when we meet next Friday, 4th October, and we hope that you will be able to join us!

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If you plan to attend the colloquium, please let us know by clicking here and answering 'yes' to our survey. This will help with ensuring we have adequate space and refreshments on the day.

Colloquium speaker writes on Syria for Global Policy

Ahead of the colloquium, one of our speakers, Corinne Heaven, has written a piece on the Syrian conflict and role(s) of UN inspection teams, for Global Policy. You can read her post here.

Poster and programme available now

Here is the poster, including a full programme, for the colloquium (click the image below for enlarged view). The poster will be circulated to current and new postgraduate students, and staff, in the Department of Politics and International Relations. We hope you can all make it on Friday 4th October!

Time and venue confirmed

Timings have changed slightly. The Colloquium will now run from 3:00pm to 6:00pm. We can also confirm that this event will take place in Room 104 of the Palmer Building (building number 26 on this map). Poster for the event to follow soon.

A staff-student colloquium on Syria

The civil war and proposed intervention in Syria raise many important questions, such as: Do Western states have a right, or even a duty (a ‘responsibility to protect’) to interfere in civil wars elsewhere? What does this conflict mean for the UN and for regional security complexes? Are France and Britain switching roles in relation to US foreign and security policy? Is the use of chemical weapons really an international ‘taboo’, and how can we assess evidence of their use?

In order to address these questions, and more, we have convened this colloquium, where staff from the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Reading will present their views on the situation for discussion and analysis with postgraduate students.

This event is scheduled to run from 2:30pm - 5:00pm on Friday 4th October, and is open to all staff and postgraduate students. Tea and coffee will be provided and we hope to hold a small wine reception after the event. Room and building TBC.

The colloquium is being convened and organised by postgraduate research students.

Programme and further details to follow.