Why Syria Matters

The Moral Case for Intervention
Panels and Discussions

There is widespread opposition in the West against foreign intervention in Syria. By large margins, public opinion in the West opposes the projection of Western military power into the Syrian conflict. Much of this sentiment is driven by opposition to US intervention in Iraq after 2003 and the sordid legacy that was left behind. But is Syria another Iraq? Are the best interests of the Syrian people, the Middle East and the broader world best served by staying out of the Syrian conflict? This lecture challenges mainstream public opinion in the West by providing a moral argument as to why Syria matters and why external intervention in Syria can be ethically justified.

 

Nader Hashemi is Associate Professor and Director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver

Discussants:
Janos M. Kovacs
External Research Fellow, Institute of Economics, Hungarian Academy of Sciences; IWM Permanent Fellow
Christian Ultsch
Head of the Foreign Politics Department, Die Presse

Media Clippings:
Nahost-Fachmann: “USA werden in Syrien eingreifen”, Die Presse, 27.11.2013
Nahost-Experte: „Regionaler Kalter Krieg zwischen Riad und Teheran“, APA, 29.11.2013

Agenda

There is widespread opposition in the West against foreign intervention in Syria. By large margins, public opinion in the West opposes the projection of Western military power into the Syrian conflict. Much of this sentiment is driven by opposition to US intervention in Iraq after 2003 and the sordid legacy that was left behind. But is Syria another Iraq? Are the best interests of the Syrian people, the Middle East and the broader world best served by staying out of the Syrian conflict? This lecture challenges mainstream public opinion in the West by providing a moral argument as to why Syria matters and why external intervention in Syria can be ethically justified.

 

Nader Hashemi is Associate Professor and Director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver

Discussants:
Janos M. Kovacs
External Research Fellow, Institute of Economics, Hungarian Academy of Sciences; IWM Permanent Fellow
Christian Ultsch
Head of the Foreign Politics Department, Die Presse

Media Clippings:
Nahost-Fachmann: “USA werden in Syrien eingreifen”, Die Presse, 27.11.2013
Nahost-Experte: „Regionaler Kalter Krieg zwischen Riad und Teheran“, APA, 29.11.2013

Partnership
In cooperation with Die Presse and the Austrian Federal Ministry of Finance