Example international relations dissertation topic 2:

Syria: The steady emergence of a new Cold War front?

The re-election of Vladimir Putin as Russian president and Russia’s support for Syria has led, this dissertation contends, to a fundamental shift in power-relations within the Middle East. Support for the Assad regime from Moscow has, in stark contrast to the situation in Libya, meant that neither NATO nor American or UK forces have been directly involved in supporting the rebels’ cause. There has also been a substantially more muted response from the West with regard to Syrian atrocities within Turkey. Advancing the proposition that the underlying reason for this ‘weakness’ in response from the West (in contrast to that deployed against either Iraq or Libya) is the support for the Syrian regime from Russia; this dissertation questions whether a post-communist, new Cold War front is emerging in which Russia (under Putin) will not tolerate Western involvement in a country that has traditionally been viewed as part of Russia’s ‘sphere of influence’.

Suggested initial topic reading:

• Guiora, A.N. (2012). ‘Intervention in Libya, yes; Intervention in Syria, no: Deciphering the Obama administration’, University of Utah Working Paper JEL: K33.
• Hasler, S. (2012). Explaining humanitarian intervention in Libya and non-intervention in Syria. Master’s thesis, US Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA.
• Troyansky, V. (2012). ‘Russia’s support for al-Asad’s Syria: Reasons old and new’, Syrian Studies Association Newsletter, Vol. 17(1).