Sanctioning Arabia through the Caesar Act: Economic Violence & Imperial Anxieties in the “Middle East”
top of page
Asian Institute of Research, Journal Publication, Journal Academics, Education Journal, Asian Institute
Asian Institute of Research, Journal Publication, Journal Academics, Education Journal, Asian Institute

Journal of Social and Political

Sciences

ISSN 2615-3718 (Online)

ISSN 2621-5675 (Print)

asia insitute of research, journal of social and political sciences, jsp, aior, journal publication, humanities journal, social journa
asia insitute of research, journal of social and political sciences, jsp, aior, journal publication, humanities journal, social journa
asia insitute of research, journal of social and political sciences, jsp, aior, journal publication, humanities journal, social journa
asia insitute of research, journal of social and political sciences, jsp, aior, journal publication, humanities journal, social journa
crossref
doi
open access

Published: 17 August 2020

Sanctioning Arabia through the Caesar Act: Economic Violence & Imperial Anxieties in the “Middle East”

Charles A. Sills, Khaled Al-Kassimi

American University of Beirut

journal of social and political sciences
pdf download

Download Full-Text Pdf

doi

10.31014/aior.1991.03.03.211

Pages: 789-799

Keywords: Sanctions, Syria, Regional Economy, Hegemony, Liberal-Interventionism, Realpolitik

Abstract

This paper appraises the regional impact of economic sanctions initiated by the United States against the Syrian Arab Republic by analyzing the ‘spillover effect’ of such measures elsewhere in the Levant. Specifically, this paper measures the impact of the ongoing American sanctions regime in Jordan and Lebanon. Excising the Syrian market from the regional economy has had -and will continue to have- ruinous consequences for Lebanese and Jordanian balance sheets. This eventuality redounds to the benefit of the United States, which seeks to extend its hegemony over a weak and divided Middle East. America’s ‘off-shore balancing’ act in the Syrian context should thus be analyzed through the lens of the realist school of IR theory. Using a hybridized research methodology incorporating qualitative and quantitative analysis, this article examines the myriad effects of the embargo while deconstructing the epistemological and theoretical frameworks underpinning the theory and practice of contemporary ‘liberal- interventionist’ discourse.

References


  1. https://alwatan.sy/archives/159719, Accessed June 26, 2020

  2. Abdul Jalil, Murad. “Syria’s transit: Proactive Fees for Hindered Transit,” (Enab Biladi, 2019). Accessed June 16, 2020.

  3. Advani, Rohan. “How is the Lebanese Crisis Affecting Syria?” (Syria Direct, 2019). Accessed June 26, .2020

  4. Al-Jazeera. “Jordanians protest proposed income tax legislation,” (2018) Accessed June 16, 2020. al-Jazeera. “Jordan's King Urges Assad to Step Down,” (2011). Accessed June 11, 2020.

  5. Al-Kassimi, K. (2018). ALBA: A decolonial delinking performance towards (western) modernity – An alternative to development project. Cogent Social Sciences,4(1), 1-35.

  6. Al-Kassimi, K. (TBA). Jus Gentium & the Arab as Muselmänner: the “Islamist Winter” is the Pre-emptive (Chaos) of the “Arab spring” Multiplying Necropolises.

  7. Al-Makahleh, Shehab. Jordan Navigates Border Trade, Pressures from Syria, (The Washington Institute, 2019). Accessed June 13, 2020.

  8. Al-Modon قانون قيصر" ضربة قاضية للاقتصاد اللبناني.. قبل السوري

  9. Alrifai, Oula. The ‘Rebuild Syria’ Exhibition: Iranian Influence and U.S. Sanctions, (The Washington Institute, 2019) Accessed June 10, 2020.

  10. Al-Sabaileh, Amer. “The Jordanian Implications of Multi-Dimensional Challenges Across the Region,” (The Jordan Times, 2020). Accessed June 17, 2020.

  11. Al-Tamimi, Aymenn Jawad. “Beekeeping in al-Qardaha: Interview,” (2020). Accessed June 10, 2020.

  12. Al-Tamimi, Aymenn Jawad. “The FSA War Criminal and the CIA Asset Inside Islamic State,” (May 29, 2020). Accessed July 2, 2020.

  13. Anghie, A. (2004). Imperialism, Sovereignty, and the Making of International Law. (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press).

  14. Anghie, A. (2009). Rethinking Sovereignty in International Law. Annual Review of Law and Social Science,5(1), 291-310. doi: 10.1146/annurev.lawsocsci.4.110707.172355

  15. Asharq al-Awsat. “Damascus Estimates Syrian Deposits in Lebanese Banks Worth $45 Billion,” (2020). Accessed June 8, 2020.

  16. Asharq al-Awsat. “Syrian Regime Depends on Allies to Overcome Caesar Act,” (2020). Accessed June 2, .2020

  17. Banque Du Liban. “The Historical Development of the Lebanese Pound,” https://web.archive.org/web/20081226204427/http://www.bdl.gov.lb/paysys/lbp/banknote.htm, Accessed June 8, 2020.

  18. Benvenisti, E. (2004). The US and the Use of Force: Double-edged Hegemony and the Management of Global Emergencies. European Journal of International Law,15(4), 677-700. doi:10.1093/ejil/15.4.677

  19. Borg, S. (2016). The Arab Uprisings, the Liberal Civilizing Narrative and the Problem of Orientalism. Middle East Critique,25(3), 211-227. doi:10.1080/19436149.2016.1163087

  20. Campbell, D. (1998). Writing Security: United States Foreign Policy and the Politics of Identity. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

  21. Cochrane, Paul. “Syria's Economy Goes from Very Bad to Worse as Lebanon's Crisis Hits,” (Middle East Eye, 2019). Accessed June 11, 2020.

  22. Conflict Armaments Research (CAR). Weapons of the Islamic State, pp. 113. Accessed June 11, 2020.

  23. Corniche, Chloe. “Turmoil in Lebanon is Hurting Syria,” (Financial Times, 2019). Accessed June 8, 2020.

  24. Hanssen, Jens. Fin De Siecle Beirut: The Making of an Ottoman Provincial Capital, (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2005), pp. 96.

  25. Human Rights Watch. Stateless Again: Palestinian-Origin Jordanians Deprived of their Nationality, (2010). Accessed June 17, 2020.

  26. IMF eLibrary. Interest Rate Determination in Lebanon, Accessed June 9, 2020.

  27. Khoury, J. (2019, November 11). Jordans king tours enclave leased to Israel after end of deal. Retrieved from https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/jordan/jordan-s-king-tours-enclave-leased-to-israel-after-end-of-deal-1.8114269

  28. Lister, Charles. The U.S.-EU Divergence on Syria’s Future, (Center for Global Policy, 2018). Accessed June 10, 2020.

  29. Lockhart, Dorsey. Executive Summary: The Syrian Refugee Crisis in Jordan & its Impact on the Jordanian Economy, (WANA Institute, 2019), pp. 16. Accessed June 13, 2020.

  30. Luck, Taylor. “Jordan appoints diplomat to Damascus embassy as relations warm,” (N World, 2019). Accessed June 13, 2020.

  31. Luck, Taylor. “Rebuilding Syria: Why Arabs and the West are on a collision course,” (Christian Science Monitor, 2019), Accessed June 11, 2020.

  32. Makki, Danny. Rampant Inflation Adds to Syria’s Economic Turmoil, (Middle East Institute, 2020), Accessed June 12, 2020.

  33. Malkawi, Khetam. “Syrian Refugees Cost Kingdom $2.5 Billion a Year,” (Jordan Times, 2016). Accessed June 14, 2020.

  34. Marcus, Jonathan. “Russia in Syria: 'Victory' in war but can Moscow win the peace?” (BBC, 2017). Accessed June 2, 2020.

  35. Mingst, K., & Warkentin, C. (1996). What Difference Does Culture Make in Multilateral Negotiations? Global Governance, 2(2), 169-188. Retrieved January 7, 2020, from www.jstor.org/stable/27800135

  36. Moussalanejad, Abbas. The Middle East Security & Donald Trump’s Grand Strategy, (Geopolitics Quarterly, Volume: 13, No. 4, 2018), pp. 20.

  37. Seale, Patrick. Asad: The Struggle for the Middle East, (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988), pp. 462.

  38. Seale, Patrick. The Struggle for Syria, (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1968), pp. 94.

  39. Syrian Anonymous Journalists استعداداً لـقيصر: حفاضات ومحارم وصمود https://www.sot-sy.com/article/138, Accessed June 3, 2020

  40. The World Bank. Jordan Economic Monitor: Maintaining Stability and Fostering Prosperity Amid Regional Turmoil, (2013), pp. 14. Accessed June 16, 2020.

  41. The World Bank. The World Bank in Jordan: Reform Highlights, (2019). Accessed June 16, 2020.
    Tony Badran. The Limits of the Indirect Approach, (The Hoover Institution, 2017). Accessed June 19, 2020.

bottom of page