Littérature scientifique sur le sujet « Manpower policy – Great Britain – 20th century »

This chapter follows the origin and development of the modern Serbian state in the last two centuries. At the crossroads of great empires, the Serbian state ascended in the 19th century. The national program formed in the first half of the 19th century as the basis of its foreign policy meant gathering the Serbian national corps into one state. It was gradually realized by maneuvering between the great powers, but also through conflict with them. In the 19th century, Serbian politics was most often correlated or in conflict with the interests of Austria, Russia, and Turkey. During Yugoslavia’s time in the first half of the 20th century, France, Britain, and Germany took over, while in Socialist Yugoslavia during the Cold War, relations with the US, the USSR, and some non-aligned countries prevailed. In the post-communist era, the main problems in Serbia’s foreign policy were its relationships with the US and NATO and with the EU and Germany. Geostrategic interests and Serbia’s position meant that it was exposed to severe exclusions and numerous wars with both its neighbors and the great powers.

In the Middle Eastern geostrategic complex Syria [the Syrian Arab Republic] occupies a special place. The first state formations on the territory of modern Syria dates back to the 2nd millennium BC. Assyria, the Hittite and Babylonian kingdoms, the era of Alexander the Great, the times as part of the Roman and Ottoman empires left a significant cultural and historical mark on the Syrians in the world’s cultural heritage, and the large Syrian ethnic community is an example of peaceful coexistence. However, as history shows, the greatest dangers came to Syria from outside. Throughout the 20th century, Syria actually found itself in a regime of permanent upheavals. By the end of the 1950s, France and Great Britain which professed [and profess] a policy of “spheres of influence” in the Middle East, tried to reshape the country, and since the 1960s Damascus has been embroiled in the contradictions of an endless peace-war process which was marked by the era of regional Arab-Israeli wars. Syria still feels the force of the consequences of the wars of 1967 and 1973 [Israel’s occupation of the Dutch Heights]. The 21st century brought Syria the “Arab Spring” [2011], civil war, the overthrow of the B. Assad regime [2024] and a time of new uncertainty. Since then, we have been observing another attempt by Syrians to build a peaceful Syria based on mutual understanding and respect for the diversity of forms of spiritual and cultural traditions of the peoples living on its territory. For the political force “Hayat Tahrir al-Sham” which is in power in Syria today the complexity of this task is dictated by harsh reality. Internal humanitarian problems, which are caused by the long-term civil conflict, are exacerbated by the powerlessness of the authorities in the cities, the lack of control over the entire territory of the country, membership in the terrorist international and the contradictory strategies regarding the fate of Syria of its main allies, partners and opponents. Therefore, the Syrian political reality dictates support and resources from outside, and the politics of the “circle of friends”, according to the laws of the genre, requires concessions and obtaining one’s own benefit. Such a retrospective picture of the Syrian issue requires a more thorough analysis of Syrian realities in the context of rapid changes in the international order of the 21st century and the military-political situation in the region. The author’s novelty is determined by the purpose, structure and logic of the study which covers time, space and country-specific reactions to the Syrian events of both the countries of the region and other players in world politics. This made it possible to unravel the tangle of events, the content of which is hidden by informational noise and the art of politicians to hide their true goals in the environment of mass consciousness. The purpose. The purpose of the study is to resolve the Syrian knot in the Middle Eastern geostrategic complex as a result of the relentless projection of “soft” and “hard” power by the main players of world and regional politics which has been going on for the past 70 years. The combination of theoretical and methodological, political and applied, and informational tools made it possible to clarify the most controversial events and facts of Syrian history and the strategy of the struggle for influence in the region of Syria’s neighboring countries and countries that seek to maintain good relations with it due to their common spiritual and cultural affiliation and common history. The achievement of the goal was facilitated by the tasks, the content of which is disclosed in three sections of the study. The sections are organically interconnected and reflect the mechanism for revealing the problem posed. Methodology. The research has been carried out using comparative, dialectical, historical and systemic methods. This has allowed us to consider the phenomenon of the Syrian “knot” on the Middle Eastern map as a holistic picture of the contradictions between the main players, to identify its features and retrospective. Results. The foreign policy goals and strategies of the main Middle Eastern players in the new round of the game around post-Assad Syria have been revealed. Their views on the Syrian historical perspective and the modern practice of the already declared priorities have been clarified. It has been stated that Turkey, the USA and Russia as geopolitical competitors in the region seek to maintain and expand their military presence, and Israel, in order to ensure security from the north, has “preventively” expanded the occupation zone of the Golan Heights [January 2025]. It has been noted that in the views of the European community – the EU, the new leadership of Syria must first of all ensure human rights and freedoms and the functioning of democratic institutions, among which free elections have been in the first place throughout the country. Practical implications. The results of the study can be used in the block of humanitarian disciplines that consider issues of international politics and regional security. Value/originality. The scientific novelty of the study lies in revealing the ontological foundations of the Middle East conflict, the permanent force of which is given by the contradictions of the history of Syria and the competition of national interests of the main players. The Syrian node is considered in three aspects: domestic political, border security and regional political. It is proved that with the coming to power in the country of the political force “Hayat Tahrir al-Sham”, the game for the Syrian heritage enters a new stage of struggle, in which the policy of “forceful decisions” will dominate, and not compromises. In this game, the new government in Syria, due to its dependence on external influences, has been assigned the role of a figurant. Conclusions. The events surrounding Syria in the last 15 years have convincingly proven a simple thing of big politics: “if you want peace, prepare for war”. This in no way means creating a conflict environment with neighbors on the borders, or entering into competing alliances. Rather, it is a synthesis of the competencies and art of politicians in using the resources of “soft” and “hard” power of society and the state in achieving national harmony and the stability of the social system to possible shocks both inside and outside the country. Over the past 30 years, Syria has proven to be the most unstable state formation in the Middle Eastern geostrategic complex, which external forces have taken advantage of, and the country’s politicians and elite have demonstrated their inability to resist these threats. Today, in post-Assad Syria, we are witnessing a new phase of the formation of another, but already pro-Turkish “Syrian node”, which may develop into a new escalation of violence in the region and a radical reformatting of the security space.