Read Pivot’s background article on the Syrian Civil War here. 3,652 days. 400,000 deaths. 5,600,000 people have fled Syria. 6,000,000 internally displaced. The Syrian Civil War has reached a new milestone. 15 March signifies a decade since the wars’ inception in 2011. Regrettably, you may … Continue readingTHE SYRIAN CIVIL WAR | A DECADE OF RUBBLE
BY DEVAN PHILLIPSON – In March 2011, Syria fell to the wave of revolutionary sentiment brought about by the Arab Spring. Dictator President Bashar al-Assad faced a massive pro-democracy movement which quickly radicalised and militarised following repression from the Syrian government. Armed militias formed in quick succession and Syria descended into a fully blown civil war. Yet, despite the wave of popular support for the pro-democracy movement, the Assad regime stands on the verge of victory ten years later. How did we exactly get here? … Continue readingTHE SYRIAN CIVIL WAR | TEN YEARS OF HELL
BY DEAN ANTOS – One would be remiss to think that history is run by impersonal forces. When humanity looks back at the year of 2020 they will undoubtedly see the difference personalities make. One such personality who more recently joins the plethora of world … Continue readingERDOGAN’S DIVISIVE DECREE
In 1996, Chandler Bing pretended to move to Yemen in an attempt to escape his annoying yet persistent girlfriend Janice. Yemen was a country so-far fetched that not even Janice wanted to follow Chandler there. Almost 20 years later, Yemen descended into chaos with a … Continue readingWHY DOES NO ONE CARE ABOUT YEMEN?
The other month saw the Syrian conflict explode once again, with President Trump making the momentous decision to pull US troops out of Syria, abandoning Americas Kurdish allies and jeopardising the fight against the Islamic State. This move backfired spectacularly, with Turkey launching an offensive … Continue readingTRUMP’S PULL-OUT GAME | THE PRESIDENT’S GRAND STRATEGY FOR THE MIDDLE EAST
The world was shocked when US President, Donald Trump, announced his hasty decision to withdraw US troops from northern Syria on October 6th. This follows a phone call with President Trump and Turkish-President Erdogan where Trump made the decision to step back and allow Turkey … Continue readingIT STARTED WITH A PHONE CALL
There has been a lot of attention from both politicians and the media regarding the escalating tensions of the United States and Iran. It’s a tit-for-tat. Each side moderately strikes and then the other side strikes back, perhaps just a little bit more provocative than … Continue readingCHINA – THE REAL WINNER IN TENSIONS WITH IRAN
Iran and the US have butted heads once again, this time it’s over the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil shipping route. On Thursday the 13th June 2 oil tankers were attacked within the Strait of Hormuz, the body of water that lies between Iran … Continue readingATTACKS IN THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ
Turkey’s accession to the European Union remains in limbo after the parliament voted to suspend the country’s bid for membership. The vote, which took place last week in Strasbourg, France returned with 370 voting in favour to suspend while 109 voted against and 143 abstained. … Continue readingTHE OTTOMAN PERIL: LIMINAL DIPLOMACY IN TURKEY’S ACCESSION TO THE EU
At 1.40pm on the 15th of March, New Zealand saw one of its darkest days since 1990 when Brenton Tarrant, an Australian white supremacist, initiated twin shootings at Mosques in Christchurch during Friday prayers. These devastating attacks resulted in fifty people losing their lives and … Continue readingFROM THE ASHES WE RISE, THE LESSONS LEARNT FROM NEW ZEALAND