Coercing Syria on Chemical Weapons
Book • 2025
Coauthored by Matthew Moran, Wyn Q. Bowen, and Jeffrey W. Knopf, this book analyzes efforts by the United States and allies to deter and compel the Assad regime regarding chemical weapons from 2012 through the early Trump administration.
Drawing on deterrence and coercive diplomacy literature, the authors identify three key factors—credibility, balance of motivations, and assurances—to explain mixed outcomes.
The book reconstructs events such as Obama's 2012 'red line,' the 2013 sarin attack, the U.S.
-Russia brokered Chemical Weapons Convention accession, and later U.S.
strikes under Trump.
It assesses why deterrence failed initially but compellence later achieved partial success and offers policy lessons for nonproliferation and coercive strategies.
The study combines interviews, congressional testimony, and process-tracing to draw theoretical and practical conclusions for scholars and policymakers.
Drawing on deterrence and coercive diplomacy literature, the authors identify three key factors—credibility, balance of motivations, and assurances—to explain mixed outcomes.
The book reconstructs events such as Obama's 2012 'red line,' the 2013 sarin attack, the U.S.
-Russia brokered Chemical Weapons Convention accession, and later U.S.
strikes under Trump.
It assesses why deterrence failed initially but compellence later achieved partial success and offers policy lessons for nonproliferation and coercive strategies.
The study combines interviews, congressional testimony, and process-tracing to draw theoretical and practical conclusions for scholars and policymakers.
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Jeffrey Knopf
Matthew Moran et al., "Coercing Syria on Chemical Weapons" (Oxford UP, 2025)
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Eleonora Mattiacci
Matthew Moran et al., "Coercing Syria on Chemical Weapons" (Oxford UP, 2025)
