Author Archives: Carl P Turner

One viewpoint of the origins of the current violence in Libya is that it is a result of the competing political tensions in post-Gaddafi Libya of Centrists, Liberals and Islamists in the General National Congress, which was disbanded in 2014. … Continue reading →

Amongst the countries that experienced the Arab Spring Libya is unique in that it was the only country where the West intervened militarily and provided the support for the rebels against a country’s leader. Of all the leaders challenged by … Continue reading →

The Africa Series continues with a focus on Libya, which underwent a brief civil war in 2011 and has been suffering the consequences ever since with a second civil war beginning in 2014. In Part One, we look at the … Continue reading →

This week, the final part of the 2017 review looks at what 2018 holds for Syria and ISIS and global terrorism. As with the Rohingya Crisis and Ukraine, which were covered last week, these are brief overviews of what are … Continue reading →

Predicting the future trajectory of armed conflict is a notoriously difficult task, even when limited to a period of only one year. Events internal to a country are capable of producing unwelcome surprises: in the DRC we have witnessed the … Continue reading →

Last week, in part one of the review of 2017, we reviewed Rohingya Crisis, conflict in Africa, and Ukraine. This week we will address Syria and ISIS and global terrorism, completing the five topics that this blog has covered. It … Continue reading →

First, the good news: In general, as a global trend, the prevalence of armed conflict has been reducing consistently throughout the twenty-first century, with less deaths overall and a reduction of inter-state conflict. Data from the Global Peace Index demonstrates … Continue reading →

The recent lack of progress at the eighth intra-Syrian talks in Geneva surprised few as the participants arrived with predetermined outcomes in mind that have hobbled attempts at mediating the conflict between the Government and the Opposition since they began. … Continue reading →

The attack on the al-Rawda mosque on the 24th November was an exercise in brutality so severe that its shockwave was felt globally against the backdrop of terrorist noise emanating from the Middle-East and North Africa. International condemnation was swift, … Continue reading →

As the termination of ISIS continues to be undertaken in both Syria and Iraq the questions over who is to hold what territory now that they have been conclusively eliminated as a quasi-state peace in Syria still remain to be … Continue reading →