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10 - The Ukrainian and Syrian Conflicts: Civil Wars or Geopolitical Shatterbelts?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 June 2023

Iulian Chifu  and
Greg Simons
By
Greg Simons
Iulian Chifu
Affiliation:
National Defence University, Bucharest
Greg Simons
Affiliation:
Uppsala Universitet, Sweden
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Summary

The manner in which armed conflicts are catagorised is an important feature of the politics of warfare. There are different implications and aspects of symbolism whether a conflict is categorised as being a civil war or a geopolitical shatterbelt. This is of relevance and significance for foreign sponsors and patrons of the conflict as terminology is useful in determining how different audiences perceive and react to the conflict in question. This chapter explores the rhetorical categorisation of the conflicts in Syria and Ukraine in terms of the narratives and storytelling used to engineer opinions, perceptions and responses to these conflicts.

Keywords

UkraineSyriacivil wargeopolitical shatterbeltUnited StatesRussiaconflict perceptionsymbolismrepresentation
Type
Chapter
Information
Rethinking Warfare in the 21st Century
The Influence and Effects of the Politics, Information and Communication Mix
 , pp. 273 - 307
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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