Since 2011, the conflict in Syria has been one of the most catastrophic conflicts of our time and a dark stain on the peacemaking abilities of the United Nations (UN). At the heart of this book is a simple but critical question – what do UN mediators tasked with the responsibility to make peace actually do? By explaining this, the book offers a detailed record of what Kofi Annan, Lakhdar Brahimi, and Staffan de Mistura did in their roles as UN mediators in Syria and presents a comprehensive analysis of the dynamics that shaped their decision-making. Beyond the cases of these three mediators, Fadi Nicholas Nassar introduces a method by which to forensically identify a mediator's fingerprints on the peacemaking process and charts a map to examine their decision-making processes. In doing so, it paves the way to evaluate the performance of these mediators – to hold them accountable for their successes and failures.

Sheds new light on the recent history and current politics and policies of this important Middle Eastern country. Throughout the last hundred years Syria has been a crucial hub of Middle Eastern events: the birth place and 'pulsating heart' of Arab nationalism, the object of colonial and regional ambitions, it has transformed into a regional power exerting influence over Lebanon and the Palestinians, Iran's closest ally and a thorn in the side of the Bush Administration. Itamar Rabinovich is uniquely qualified to take a panoramic view of Syria's modern history and contemporary politics. As a scholar, he spent thirty-five years studying Syria in diplomatic archives and through the range of sources available to current research. As a diplomat, he was Yitzhak Rabin's chief negotiator with Syria and Israel's ambassador to Washington, and thus a key participant in some of the events addressed in this volume. The twenty-one essays cover the century from the eve of the First World War to the Bush Administration's row with Bashar al-Asad. They are focused on three principal themes: the notion of a Syrian entity and its translation into a Syrian state in its current boundaries; the conflict between rival concepts of the political community that inhabits the Syrian state; and issues of foreign policy with a particular emphasis on the Syrian-Israeli conflict and peace process. The main themes of Syrian history and politics are picked up at their inception and followed through the course of the twentieth century to the present day.

The author shows that after the Independence War, the Arabs countries were willing to negotiate with Israel and how close they came to success, and how their failure laid the grounds for the current impasse.