Professor Volk Comments on Middle East Fight Against ISIS

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES -- Tensions between the two countries have long simmered, but the public diplomatic tiff is just the latest manifestation of the many divisions among Arab states that have blocked a unified response to the threat. While certain coordinated efforts are under way in the fight against ISIS, a common position will not be forthcoming, said Lucia Volk, a professor of International Relations at San Francisco State University in California. As unified as the rhetoric of Arab governments may be on ISIS, particularly after the shocking executions of al-Kaseasbeh and the Egyptian Christians, regional power dynamics and politics nonetheless weigh into considerations around the fight. “In Syria, the fight against ISIS strengthens the power of (Syrian President Bashar Assad), whom ... the Arab League have asked to resign,” said Volk, the San Francisco State University professor.