Posted: 16 November 2018| Region: Middle East | Category: Analysis
Authors: Kars de Bruijne; Muaz Al Abdullah; Stephanie Anderson; Nick Grinstead
Introducing ACLED’s control map of Syria, a novel examination of the country’s changing political violence landscape, developed by Senior Syria Researcher Dr. Kars de Bruijne, Assistant Syria Research Manager Stephanie Anderson, Syria Research Manager Muaz A. and Researcher Nick Grinstead, with contributions from the Syria Research Team. Updated versions of the map will be released periodically.
For an explanation of ACLED’s methodology for mapping territorial control in Syria, click here.
Kars de Bruijne is a Senior Research Fellow at Clingendael's Security Unit. At the Conflict Research Unit (CRU), Kars heads the Greater Sahel Programme which focuses on the manifestation of hybrid governance under fragmented sovereignty in the Sahel and Coastal West Africa. His expertise is on the study of political violence (conflict dynamics, gangs and rebel movement strategy), subnational governance arrangement and their link to the central power, and elite politics in West Africa. Kars holds a PhD in conflict studies on rationalist explanations for (civil) conflict and degrees in International Relations, History, and Philosophy. Previously, he worked as a Senior Researcher at the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) heading among others the West Africa Desk. He is also a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Sussex in the ERC-consolidator project Violence, Elites and Resilience in States under Stress (VERSUS).
Muaz Al Abdullah is a Middle East Research Manager at ACLED overseeing Syria, Iraq, and Iran. He has been with the organization since June 2017. Muaz holds an MA in Political Science and International Relations and has over eight years of experience working with different non-profit organizations and providing security analysis to organizations implementing projects in Syria. His research focuses on reconstruction efforts in the transitional/post-war phase in Syria.
Stephanie Anderson assists in the management of ACLED's Syria project and oversees the desk's analysis program. She holds an M.A. in Development Studies with a concentration on conflict, peace, and development issues and a geographic specialization in the Middle East and North Africa. Her current work focuses on civilian impact and agency in the Syrian conflict, with her prior research focusing on the role of civilian governance actors in rebel-held areas of Syria.
Nick Grinstead is a researcher focusing on the political economy of conflict-affected and fragile countries in the Levant. He applies his years of regional experience to his analytical rigor with an eye toward identifying under-looked trends in conflicts. Nick is also developing an understanding of conflicts in sub-Saharan Africa, where he is currently based.
Regions: Middle East
