The timing of mediation: Mutually hurting stalemate and beyond in Syrian civil war

The aim of this study is to analyze the Syrian Civil War in the context of the Ripeness and Mutually Hurting Stalemate theories. These theories are used in the literature to explain protracted civil wars. This thesis presents a case study by testing the theoretical notions with the Syrian Civil War. The study mainly consists of 4 chapters. The first chapter outlines the theoretical framework of the concepts of Ripeness and Mutually Hurting Stalemate. In the second part, the Syrian Civil War is analyzed in a historical context and the current situation is presented. In the third chapter, attempts and negotiations for peace are analyzed. In the fourth chapter, the war is analyzed in the context of theories and solution proposals are presented. Consequently, it seems that conflict reaches a ripe moment, leading the parties to a mutually hurting stalemate. The study proved this conclusion with theoretical notions. Although the Syrian Civil War is discussed in the literature within the scope of peace studies, there is no case study related to the theories in question. This study hopes to reduce this gap in the literature.