When the arab spring reached syria, its pharaoh, bashar alassad, was in no mood to give up easily. Discontent with authoritarianism and assad familys long reign of power in syria since the 1970s. What started as a nonviolent protest in 2011 quickly escalated into fullblown warfare. Many syrian activists and defecting soldiers took up weapons in response, and as the fighting spread, islamistsmany of them nonsyrian extremistsjoined the antigovernment battle. As the conflict starts to gain a character of a civil war, according. Therefore, the task of this essay is to survey to fundamental causes of the syrian war and to assess their relative ascendancy in its outbreak. I argue that the main components leading to the civil war under bashar alasad were as follows. This report provides an overview of the sixyearlong syrian civil war. The civil war in syria and the impotence of international politics muriel asseburg and heiko wimmen entering the third year of the con.
The superpowers and regional powers, including syria, used their allies in lebanon to wage their own proxy wars in the midst of the 17yearlong lebanese civil. The syrian civil war began in 2011 as a peaceful uprising against the undemocratic and often brutal regime of syrian president bashar alassad, whos ruled the country since his fathers death. Some experts have announced several outcomes of syrian crisis. Human rights violations during the syrian civil war have been numerous and serious, with united nations reports stating that the war has been characterized by a complete lack of adherence to the norms of international law by the warring parties who have caused civilians immeasurable suffering. When the war is over and the world has time to reflect, history will become clearer. Jumada 2, 1437 march 2016 the evolution of frances. Syrian civil war compiled by thomas plofchan march 6, 2011.
Though armed insurrection incidents began as early as june 2011 when rebels killed 120140 syrian security personnel, the beginning of. The syrian military launches a fullscale assault to put down the rebellion, destroying large areas of the city and killing thousands of civilians. Syrias war explained from the beginning news al jazeera. Sexual violence has become one of the main causes of displacement, but women who. The syrian civil war is an ideological step in the right direction for the region, but its negative impacts have seemed to outweigh the positive ones for other countries. For long, syria s relations with saudi arabia were fraught with tensions. Saudi arabia resented syrian involvement in lebanon that continued after the civil war had ended. Syrian civil to the exploits of the war and islamic state of iraq and syria isis, this collection of papers shows the devolution to civil war and then to a larger conflict that may ultimately embroil the entire arab world. Salman shaikh explains why russia and chinas recent veto of a united nations security council draft resolution on syria could damage regional stability and even lead the country to civil war. The civil war in syria and the impotence of international politics. A brief guide to the syrian civil war the atlantic. Calls for rising up against the ruling syrian president bashar alassads regime. They also expect that the lebanese hezbollah would be weakened by regime change in syria, which serves as its most important transit route for arms supplies. Syrian civil war simple english wikipedia, the free.
The conflict in syria transitioned from an insurgency to a civil war during the summer of 2012. Isis, jabhat alnusra, and the syrian regime with its allies. Syria was blamed for the 2005 assassination of rafic. The syrian uprising began in march 2011 when security forces of president bashar alassad opened fire on and killed several prodemocracy protesters in the southern syrian city of deraa. Civil war in syria and the new wars debate artur malantowicz the last two decades saw a plethora of contributions to the academic debate on the shifting character of contemporary warfare.
This disastrous war damaged relations throughout the middle east and achieved little for syria. This senior thesis is an in depth analysis of the historical causes of the syrian civil war. My research and analysis provided demonstrates that these. This protracted disaster has but negative aspects, especially on living, educational and. Lankan civil war and the potential future costs associated with a continuation of the conflict. Ruling military group and the causes for its dominance, the. The syrian government, the opposition rebels, foreign powers and islamic militants are all the architects of the syrian quagmire. The saudis were us allies, and syria, a russian ally. Since syrias civil war, brazil has quietly accepted more syrian refugees than any other country in latin america. The syrian conflict marks a grim anniversary on march 15, as the country enters its seventh year of civil war. The economy is shattered, there are more than 5 million syrian refugees abroad, and the government lacks the resources to rebuild. The syrian civil war, which has devastated the entire country of syria and its neighbors, is a complex conflict that involves several nations, rebel groups and terrorist organizations.
Human rights violations during the syrian civil war. The downfall of isis in eastern syria did not, however, resolve the broader syrian conflict. Some scholars praised the notion of unique features in the nature of contemporary violent conflicts and thereby coined new terms and approaches, such. On july 15, the international committee of the red cross classified the conflict as a civil war, as a way to warn against mounting battlerelated casualties and, especially, the growing death toll from onesided violence against civilians. The government of bashar alassad has largely won, but the cost has been steep. Causes and consequences of the syrian civil war scholar. As syrias civil war rages on, more and more people grow desensitized to the countrys tragedy. A poster of syrias president at a checkpoint on the outskirts of damascus, january. The real level of suffering is vastly higher than the number of dead from chemical weapons would indicate, and any effort to use. The uprising spread throughout the country, demanding assads resignation and an end to his authoritarian leadership.
The causes and catalysts of the current civil war in syria are many and varied, including narratives that range across religion, poverty, past repression, and ideology. Causes, consequences, and recommendations for mitigation a paper commissioned by the center for the prevention of genocide, united states holocaust memorial museum by ambassador frederic c. The impact of the syrian conflict on lebanese trade english. After denouncing plans to partition syria in march 2018. In light of this argument, this research aims to evaluate three prominent causes of civil conflictstate capacity, ethnic grievances, and third party assistancethat. The events of summer 2012 marked an important in the syrian crisisshift. Collier 1999, who provides an ex post assessment of all civil wars between 1960 and 1990, finds that war affects not only the level but also the composition of economic activity, especially for manufacturing and some services sectors in uganda. In the southern town of daraa, police arrest some fifteen young boys for spraypainting buildings with the slogan, the people want the downfall of the regime. This had been preceded by several causes for friction. The confused persons guide to the syrian civil war. A strategy for ending the syrian civil war center for a. It means, the world of islam has been spending its whole time on the crisis in syria and it has distracted.
In may 2017, russia, iran and turkey called for the setup of four deescalation zones in syria, over which syrian and russian fighter jets were not expected to fly. Regime and rebels are locked in a battle for survival. Economic effects of the syrian war and the spread of the. However, this is not to deny that some causes and catalysts have been. The syrian civil war is arguably the worst humanitarian crisis since the second world war, with over a quarter million killed, roughly the same number wounded or missing, and half of syrias 22. Introduction around 18 thousand people by july 20121 have died in syria since the beginning of the uprising in march 2011.
From 1975 onward, hafez alassad pursued a political game of chess to gain an advantage over syrias smaller neighbor. The incomplete democracy and the onset of war, causes and. For the background and legal content use the prosecution of syrian civil war criminals. Before the region could recover, civil war engulfed syrias southern neighbour, lebanon. The impact of the syrian conflict on lebanese trade english abstract. The armed conflict in syria has accelerated in recent months. The sight of a young boy stretched across a turkish beach has slipped from the minds of so many along with the outrage people used to express. Causes and consequences of the syrian civil war by.
Syrian civil war as an opportunity to decisively weaken iran, hoping that defeat in the levant could force tehran to give ground on other issues such as its nuclear programme. Hof, senior fellow, rafik hariri center for the middle east, atlantic council of the united states and. A cheat sheet1 1 causes of the syrian civil war discontent with authoritarianism and assad familys long reign of power in syria since the 1970s syria is 74% sunni, but the assad family is part of a shia sect known as the alawites. Three years on, the civil war has broadened into several overlapping but distinct wars. The syrian civil war, also known as the syrian uprising arabic. This increased apathy is partially due to peoples lack of knowledge on how and why the syrian civil war started. It is important to remember that, as the war is still going on, its main causes are still unclear, and most are based on certain point of views. Thesis statementthe cause of the civil war is not simply one component, but a multitude of historical moments that have led up to the modern and current ones we see today all combined together creating a deterioration of stability in syria i. The civil war takes shape while we know a good deal about the syrian government because it is much like many other governments around the world, we dont know much about the rebels. The trigger event which caused the civil war in syria was when s of people took the street in january 2011 to demand political reforms e. The brutal repression of peaceful antigovernment protests pushed the country towards a civil war. The protesters were protesting about the brutal rule of. However, the causes listed below are major factors that led to the start of the syrian civil war and have kept it going. Global though geographically distant, the problems experienced in syria are of upmost importance to the entire world, and, without solving the problem of syrias civil war.
The syrian civil war, also known as syrian uprising or syrian crisis arabic. The patchwork of control that predominated for the first. The devastating civil war in syria is arguably one of the major civil conflicts in recent times. Eight years on, the syrian civil war is finally winding down. The syrian autocrat visited india in 2008, and several highlevel syrian officials have visited new delhi since the start of the civil war to lobby india for a more active role in the conflict, according to a news website war on rocks report in april 2016. In brazil, syrian refugees retrace migration trails. Tough talk notwithstanding, the trump administrations early actions in iraq and syria appear broadly consistent with the approach pursued by the obama administration. The conflict began on 15 march 2011, with demonstrations. Syrian civil war geneva international centre for justice. Collection of syrian war conflict articles, pdfs, maps, photos. The syrian civil war since 2011 is one of the most complex humanitarian emergencies in history. These demonstrations were like demonstrations held in.
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