tjss The Journal of Social Science 2587-0807 Cenk AKSOY 10.30520/tjsosci.522048 WHY IT IS TOO DIFFICULT TO DOWN ASSAD?: THE MURPHY LAWS OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS WHY IT IS TOO DIFFICULT TO DOWN ASSAD?: THE MURPHY LAWS OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS Güzelipek Yiğit Anıl KARAMANOĞLU MEHMETBEY ÜNİVERSİTESİ 02 28 2019 3 5 322 330 02 04 2019 02 09 2019 Copyright © 2017, The Journal of Social Science 2017 The Journal of Social Science

In the modern history, Arab Spring was one of the most importantmerciless challenge to military dictatorships all around the Middle East. Allthe dictators lost their rotten thrones sooner or later except Bashar el-Assad.There are many political or strategic explanations regarding how Assad stillpartly protects his power and still represents Syria in the position ofpresidency. On the other hand, sometimes “perfectly” designed internationalpolitics fall behind while interpreting the “destined” side of internationalrelations. In other words, sometimes “expect the unexpected” which is thefamous formula of Murphy Laws determine the critical developments in internationalrelations. This paper aims to investigate the Assad’s survival based on theMurphy Laws which is considered as one of the natural extension of post-positivisttheory in international relations. In order to support the arguments of thispaper, other historical developments are also adapted to the study.

In the modern history, Arab Spring was one of the most importantmerciless challenge to military dictatorships all around the Middle East. Allthe dictators lost their rotten thrones sooner or later except Bashar el-Assad.There are many political or strategic explanations regarding how Assad stillpartly protects his power and still represents Syria in the position ofpresidency. On the other hand, sometimes “perfectly” designed internationalpolitics fall behind while interpreting the “destined” side of internationalrelations. In other words, sometimes “expect the unexpected” which is thefamous formula of Murphy Laws determine the critical developments in internationalrelations. This paper aims to investigate the Assad’s survival based on theMurphy Laws which is considered as one of the natural extension of post-positivisttheory in international relations. In order to support the arguments of thispaper, other historical developments are also adapted to the study.

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