This carefully researched, theoretically informed book should be essential reading for anyone interested in the connections between climate change, government policy, and human vulnerability. Daoudy asks whether, and to what extent, climate change played a role in fomenting the Syrian conflict. She rightfully critiques simplistic accounts that foreground climate change as a catalyst for conflict and instead highlights the importance of government policies and ideology in deepening human insecurity and undermining regime legitimacy in the two decades prior to the 2011 uprising.
Daoudy brings to this book a rare combination of deep expertise in Syrian political economy and a command of international relations theory, particularly regarding issues of environmental security. Her analysis draws upon a range of previously unexplored primary sources in Arabic, including Syrian government reports, civil society documents, and interviews, as well as a wide range of secondary sources. The result is the most comprehensive, in-depth account to...