About the Author

A. B. Abrams is the author of Power and Primacy: A History of Western Intervention in the Asia-Pacific and Immovable Object: North Korea's 70 Years at War with American Power. He has published widely on defence and international politics, and holds Masters degrees in related subjects from the University of London. Abrams is proficient in several Asian languages including Arabic, and has closely studied the Syrian War for close to a decade due to its international strategic significance. He is based out of London.

Reviews

"A. B. Abrams has written an extremely informative and illuminating account on the international dimension of the origins, outbreak and evolution of the Syrian conflict. His empirically rich analysis in this nuanced and comprehensive study make it one of the best books, if not the best book, written about the Syrian crisis. This book is a MUST read for anyone who wants to understand the Syrian conflict, the Middle East, and the role of the great powers in the region." --Jubin Goodarzi, Professor and Deputy Head of International Relations, Webster University, Geneva. Former consultant and political adviser on Middle Eastern affairs for the UNHCR. He formerly held posts at Chatham House, CSIS and the Ford Foundation.

"An insightful and dispassionate record of the Syrian Maelstrom and the West's role as the Sorcerer's Apprentice." --John Holmes, Major General and Director Special Forces (ret.), British Army.
"A. B. Abrams' book World War in Syria is an impressive and detailed historical analysis of the strategic context and interests which led to the decade long war on the remaining outpost of Arab nationalism in the Middle East. It cuts through the shallow interventionist slogans which fuel most recent western discussion about the dirty war on Syria." --TIM ANDERSON, author of Axis of Resistance

"The countries intervening in Syria without approval of the Security Council under Chapter VII were consciously violating international law. Abrams' intensive, highly-documented work provides an excellent resource for understanding the historical and present dimensions of the conflict." -- Alfred De Zayas, Professor, Geneva School of Diplomacy. Former UN Independent Expert on the Promotion of a Democratic and Equitable International Order.

"Detailed and extensively researched, Abram's work is essential reading that helps to illuminate the geopolitics behind the Syrian War and set out the backdrop to key controversies. 'World War in Syria' provides vital political and military context with respect to the first ten years of the conflict." -- Piers Robinson, Political Scientist and Convenor of the Working Group on Syria. Former chair in Politics, Society and Political Journalism at Sheffield University.
"A.B. Abrams' work is the first truly independent, well documented research on the origins and developments of the Syrian war. Mr. Abrams' work shows the scope of the external intervention against the Syrian Arab Republic. Using mainly the reliable neutral sources in English, it also traces the motives for the unholy alliance of Western globalists and jihadist militants, the main force behind this intervention." --Dmitry Babich, political analyst, RIA Novosti news agency, Moscow.

The book advances a new perspective on the interplay between domestic and external drivers of Syria's war. Abrams explores the complexities surrounding the unfolding of the conflict and draws parallels between foreign involvement in Syria and Western interventions around the world. This book will be an important addition for researchers and all those interested in the dynamics of the Syrian war." --Konstantinos Zarras, Adjunct Lecturer at the University of Macedonia, Greece. Co-author of The War for Syria: Regional and International Dimensions of the Syrian Uprising.

"A serious effort to unearth and connect dots that have so far been, perhaps deliberately, overlooked." --Ammar Waqqaf, CEO of the Gnosos View think tank
"Impressive in its scholarship, pondered in its judgements, above all searing in its dissection of Western powers' war on Syria waged over many decades, the book is a must-have on the bookshelves of any serious fair-minded student of Syria." --Peter Ford, British Ambassador to Syria from 2003 to 2006

"The most detailed history of the war in Syria so far, providing a richness of highly interesting details, as well as a critical analysis of its complex international and domestic dimensions, rarely encountered in other Western publications." --Nikolaos van Dam, former Special Envoy for Syria, 2015-16. Ambassador of the Netherlands to Iraq, Egypt, Turkey, Germany and Indonesia, 1988-2010. Author of Destroying a Nation. The civil war in Syria.

"A. B. Abrams explores the widening scope of the Syrian conflict in his important book. Solving Syria's civil war will require a regional approach engaging stakeholders whose interests are fundamentally opposed." --DAVID L. PHILLIPS, Director, Program on Peace-building and Rights, Columbia University Institute for the Study of Human Rights. Former Senior Adviser in the Clinton, Bush, and Obama State Departments, and former Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council.

"Abrams is a meticulous guide to the labyrinth of Syria's modern political history." --Richard W. Murphy. U.S. Ambassador to Syria, 1974 to 1978. Consul in Aleppo, Syria, 1960 to 1963
"Supported by a weight of evidence, this book sets out the context and details of the Syrian conflict as an internationalised civil war. The book effectively helps the reader to chart a course between the overwhelming complexity of the crisis and Western efforts to tell a simplified story of events on the ground. It will be of interest to researchers, students and those interested in the messy reality of one of the past decade's foremost crises." --Jack Holland, Associate Professor in International Security at the University of Leeds and Author of Selling War and Peace: Syria and the Anglosphere.

"The countries intervening in Syria without approval of the Security Council under Chapter VII were consciously violating international law. Abrams' intensive, highly-documented work provides an excellent resource for understanding the historical and present dimensions of the conflict." - Alfred De Zayas, Professor, Geneva School of Diplomacy, and former UN Independent Expert on the Promotion of a democratic and equitable international order

"A superb narrative dealing with tactical, operational and strategic matters of that war, in as fine military history writing as any by the first rate military historian, and also shows a horrendous toll this war exerted on the people of Syria. It is a superb book which makes a great contribution to the field of study of the Middle East and of global politics and balance of forces." -- Andrei Martyanov, former naval officer. Frequent contributor to the U.S. Naval Institute Blog. Author of The (Real) Revolution in Military Affairs.
"This is a sad tale of betrayal and conspiracy. Not just theory but facts meticulously uncovered by Abrams. The conspiracy was part of broader trends in the United States and Europe towards the non-Western World. Since its fight for independence from French rule in 1946, Syria's struggles to remain free of Western hegemonic ambitions have continued to play out for decades culminating in the crisis which emerged in 2011 and became a proxy war of international proportions. -- Dawn Chatty, Emeritus Professor of Anthropology and Forced Migration at the University of Oxford. Fellow at the British Academy and author of Syria: The Making and Unmaking of a Refuge State.

"Abrams' book provides essential historical and geopolitical context to Syria's ten year war, reflecting a particularly deep and comprehensive understanding of the conflict and of the country's strategic importance." --Military Watch Magazine

"Supported by a weight of evidence, this book sets out the context and details of the Syrian conflict and effectively helps the reader to chart a course between the overwhelming complexity of the crisis and Western efforts to tell a simplified story of events on the ground. It will be of interest to researchers, students and those interested in the messy reality of one of the past decade's foremost crises." -- Jack Holland, Associate Professor in International Security at the University of Leeds. Author of Selling War and Peace: Syria and the Anglosphere.