A renowned historian of the Levant offers a panoramic account of the intertwined, borderless wars wracking Syria and Iraq. The book's most original feature is addressing the Syrian and Iraqi conflicts as a single conflict area.

Cover; Half-title; Title; Copyright; Dedication; Contents; List of Maps; Abbreviations; Timeline for crises and war in Syria and Iraq, 2011â#x80;#x93;2017; Note on transliteration; Acknowledgements; Introduction; 1. The War Zone Takes Shape, 2011â#x80;#x93;2014; Syria as epicentre; Blaming structures: Imperialism and Baâ#x80;#x99;athism; Agency: Basharâ#x80;#x99;s show?; From protests to war in Syria, March 2011â#x80;#x93;March 2012; Syria decomposes, April 2012â#x80;#x93;September 2013; Syria and Iraq: towards a joint war zone, 2013â#x80;#x93;2014; 2. War in Syria and Iraq, 2014â#x80;#x93;2017; Countering ISIS; Lucky Assad?. Flux across the Fertile CrescentShape-shifting war; 3. The Kurds at War, 2014â#x80;#x93;2017; Kurdish realities; The Kurds confront ISIS, 2014â#x80;#x93;2017; Kurdish paths; A throw of the dice; 4. Turkey and the War Zone; Turkeyâ#x80;#x99;s contracting horizons, 2011â#x80;#x93;2014; Turkey the bold, 2015â#x80;#x93;2016; Turkey in a new strategic landscape, 2017; Frustration?; Epilogue; Glossary; Notes; Select bibliography; Index