Book review: the battle for Syria: international rivalry in the new Middle East by Christopher Phillips

In The Battle for Syria: International Rivalry in the New Middle East, Christopher Phillips looks at the Syrian conflict as part of a wider geopolitical puzzle, focusing on the role played by six key external protagonists: the USA, Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar. Daniel Falkiner recommends its valuable insight into the dynamics of what Phillips describes as ‘the greatest humanitarian catastrophe of the twenty-first century’.