Quicksilver War

'Well crafted and framed.'
'The strength of Quicksilver War lies in showing the dialectical interplay between domestic political authoritarianism, fierce geostrategic rivalries and constant foreign intervention. It fills a major gap in the field.' -- Fawaz A. Gerges, Professor of International Relations, London School of Economics, and author of 'ISIS: A History'
'Combining factual breadth with analytical depth, this fine account of the Syrian and Iraqi conflicts manages to highlight both their intertwined character and key differences between the two countries' respective history and internal dynamics. It also challenges short-term explanations of the current fragmentation by showing how decades of Ba'thist rules have paved the way for it.' -- Thomas Pierret, Senior Lecturer in Contemporary Islam, University of Edinburgh
'A masterful book. William Harris is a veteran observer of the Fertile Crescent, and a particularly perceptive analyst. He offers a balanced and nuanced view of how Iraq and Syria descended into violence, instability and suffering at the hands of competing domestic, regional and international actors. In treating Iraq and Syria as a combined war Harris offers a better understanding of the complexities and the challenges awaiting both countries before a modicum of stability can be found.' -- Kemal Kirisci, TUSIAD Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC, and author of 'Turkey and the West: Fault Lines in a Troubled Alliance'
'William Harris artfully sketches the trajectory of Syria and Iraq - two core states of the Arab world, whose geography and history made them key to the understanding of the region's past as well as its future - from stability and solidity under the dictatorships of Saddam Hussein and the Assad dynasty to civil war and Jihad.' -- Eyal Zisser, Vice Rector of Tel Aviv University and Yona and Dina Ettinger Chair in the Contemporary History of the Middle East
'The catastrophic conflict in Syria and Iraq doesn't lend itself to easy analysis. But William Harris, a politics prof at the University of New Zealand, is a knowledgeable guide.'