Violent Non-state Actors and the Syrian Civil War: The ISIS and YPG Cases

Chapter 1: Reframing and Reassessing the VNSAs in Syrian Conflict: An Introduction.- Part 1: Actorness.- Chapter 2: Contested Geographies: How ISIS and YPG Rule 'No-Go' Areas in Northern Syria.- Chapter 3: Making Sense of the Territorial Aspirations of ISIS: Autonomy, Representation, Influence.- Chapter 4: How to Profile PYD/YPG as an Actor in the Syrian Civil War: Policy Implications for the Region and Beyond.- Chapter 5: The Islamic State versus the Popular Protection Units: Reciprocal Mobilization of Violent Non-State Actors in the Syrian Civil War.- Part 2: Powerfulness.- Chapter 6: ISIS as an Actor Controlling Water Resources in Syria and Iraq.- Part 3: Effectiveness.- Chapter 7: 'Surrogate Warfare' in Syria and the Pitfalls of Diverging US Attitudes Towards ISIS and PYD.- Chapter 8: External Actors and VNSAs: An Analysis of the United States, Russia, ISIS and PYD/YPG.- Chapter 9: The EU's Stance Towards VNSAs in dealing with the Syrian Crisis and its Effects.- Chapter 10: Understanding Iran's Approach to Violent Non-State Actors: ISIS and YPG Cases.- Chapter 11: The Contagion of the Syrian Civil War into Turkey Under the Impact of ISIS and YPG Cases: Conditioning Factors and Diffusion Mechanisms.