Syria: From the Great War to Civil War

John McHugo in conversation with Jonathan Fryer of Saadi Youssef.

Syria’s descent into civil war has already claimed an estimated 150,000 lives while nearly nine million people have fled their homes. This is now the greatest humanitarian and political crisis of the twenty-first century. Why have Syria’s foundations as a nation proved so fragile, and why has the international community been so powerless?

Join John McHugo and Jonathan Fryer as they seek to unravel this tragedy by tracing the history of Syria from the First World War to the present.

John McHugo is an international lawyer and historian, with over forty years’ experience of the Arab world. A board member of CAABU and a director of the British Egyptian Society, McHugo is also chair of the Liberal Democrat Friends of Palestine. His previous publications include A Concise History of the Arabs. He has written for the BBC website, Chatham House’s The World Today, History Today and specialist international law journals.

Jonathan Fryer is a freelance writer, lecturer and broadcaster on international affairs. He writes for the BBC and The Guardian and lectures part-time at London University’s School of Oriental and African Studies. His publications include histories of Iraqi Kurdistan and Kuwait.

The discussion will be followed by a Q&A and there will be an opportunity to purchase and have copies of the book signed by the author.

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