Syrian Crisis: „Geopolitical Chernobyl”? (I.)

Abstract

The analysis is the first part of a longer study dealing with the Syrian crisis that emerged as a result of the Arab Spring. The issues analyzed in the work deal with the nature and the wider geopolitical contexts of the crisis. They also discuss the catastrophic consequences of this multidimensional conflict on the Syrian society, the transformation of the ethnic and religious map of the country, and the future of the Syrian statehood. Among the geostrategic motives of the conflict, this part of the study focuses on the consequences of the so-called pipeline war caused by the Qatari and Iranian megaprojects. It also deals with the growing strategic significance of the offshore energy reserves of the Levant Basin, and with the consequences of war on the Syrian hydrocarbon sector.