The Reconfiguration of Armed Conflict in International Relations: The Internationalization of the Conflict in Syria

Abstract

During the last few decades there has been a reconfiguration of armed conflicts throughout the world. This reconfiguration is mainly characterized by the predominance of internal armed conflicts (iac), the participation of non-state actors, and a novel capacity to produce relevant transnational effects. Within this framework, International Relations (ir) –moving beyond its traditionally focus on armed conflict among States- has had to incorporate iac as an indispensable referent. Whereas this inclusion has revealed the discipline’s limitations, it has also opened up an extensive research agenda, which enhances it. The present Syrian conflict has been selected to illustrate the relevance of the study of iacs for ir. In the first part of the article the factors that account for the reconfiguration of armed conflicts since the end of the Cold War are identified. Following, the role of conflicts within ir is reviewed, and some of the topics that shape the research agenda of the discipline, linked to iac, are named. The last section examines the Syrian conflict in order to elucidate some of the more relevant aspects of the study of these types of conflicts from the perspective of ir.