A Souq of Bones, Buzzards, and Aid Workers Negotiating Emergency Humanitarian Aid in Syria: 2011-2021 In this paper I explore the humanitarian aid “ecosystem” that existed in Syria from 2011-2021. During this period, Syria was engulfed in a civil war creating one of the greatest human catastrophes since World War II. Of central concern to this study are the processes, strategies and structure of negotiations utilized by grassroots humanitarian organizations to address the complexities of the diverse interests, issues of sovereignty, multi-culturalism, asymmetric power, coalition building, and amorphous conditionalities that were ever-present among all stakeholders in the ongoing internecine civil war. The Covid-19 global pandemic added a new dimension in the last year. Negotiations are analyzed through the lens of three distinct sets of actors; all who “negotiated” with the Syrian government; (1) tribal entities, (2) non-state actors, and (3) foreign governments. In this unique Syrian nexus of murder, chaos, and dysfunction, I argue aid institutions successfully executed emergency assistance projects through innovative negotiation techniques that quite often compromised their core values and the values of their donors. Different types of “guerilla NGOs” as described by Dr. Carsten Wieland reacted most efficiently in catastrophic situations, sacrificing efficacy of certain projects, donor expectations, and strategic plans to succeed in delivering spontaneous emergency assistance. Entities with the least hierarchical structure and well-established working relationships on the ground were able to respond extemporaneously which allowed them to accomplish more in providing emergency assistance than organizations that required institutional approval. This paper conducts its research methodology using Howard Raiffa’s synthesized approach to decision making: an interconnection of decision analysis, behavioral decision making, game theory, and negotiation analysis. A swinging balance between inductive and deductive negotiation techniques is shown to have succeeded in specific moments throughout the decade. Synthesizing emerging humanitarian literature, project reports, and interviews, this paper shows through numerous case studies how emergency aid has been deployed in Syria in the most difficult circumstances.