Surviving the War in Syria

It is estimated that of Syria's pre-war population, over half have been displaced from their homes, some having moved abroad and many remaining in the country despite the threats posed by civil war from Bashar Assad's government, ISIS, foreign intervention, and a proliferation of rebel groups and militias. Despite this, migration is just one option out of a broad set of potential self-protection strategies available to civilians, with other strategies including fighting, protesting, collaborating, or hiding. In this study, Justin Schon emphasises that civilian behaviour in conflict zones includes repertoires of survival strategies, instead of migration alone. Providing a microanalysis of civilian self-protection strategies during armed conflict in Syria, Schon draws on ten months of fieldwork in Turkey, Jordan, Kenya, and the United States, with over two hundred structured interviews with Syrian refugees. Exploring how civilians select specific survival strategies, their motives and opportunities, he reveals questions which have the potential to guide new research on civil wars, and affect how we think about other survival strategies, from political, violent, to environmental threats.

'In this outstanding study, Schon advances our theoretical and empirical understanding of civilian agency in civil war. Taking on the individual psychology, emotion, and social relationships that underlie citizen behavior, supported with fascinating data from Syrian migrants, the book is both ambitious and rich.' Michael G. Findley, University of Texas, Austin, 'Schon offers a rich, insightful analysis of coping strategies during the Syrian War. Through extensive field research and surveys of refugees, this book provides a micro-level look into the difficult decisions civilians make during armed conflict. Given the international significance of the Syrian conflict, this book could not be timelier.' Idean Salehyan, University of North Texas, 'Surviving the War in Syria analyzes how civilians seek safety during civil war. Schon develops new theory about civilian survival strategies, and reports careful and extensive qualitative and quantitative fieldwork among refugees from Syria, making an important contribution to our understanding of civilian behavior in the face of war and conflict.' James Igoe Walsh, University of North Carolina, Charlotte, 'This is a book that needs to be read.' R. W. Olson, CHOICE connect

Justin Schon is Post-doctoral Research Associate in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Florida, where his work focuses on the modelling of migration, armed conflict, and development. He is the author of articles in the Journal of Peace Research, Perspectives on Politics, Journal of Refugee Studies, Civil Wars, International Interactions, Political Geography, and Journal of Social Structure.