Middlebury Institute Lecture: Coercing Syria on Chemical Weapons

Chemical Weapons use in Syria confronted the international community with a difficult challenge. The US and its allies were reluctant to intervene in another Middle East conflict and afraid that a sudden collapse of the Assad regime would enable jihadist groups to seize control of Syria. At the same time, outside powers did not want to allow a longstanding norm against CW use to erode through repeated violations. Eventually, the US – sometimes working with France and the UK – adopted a strategy of coercion. This talk will examine the track record of these efforts and attempt to suggest lessons to be learned.

Sponsored by the Office of the Provost.