The third, fourth and fifth chapters summarize the necessary empirical evidence about the syrian conflict. Within a month following the first wave of protests in midmarch 2011, sectarian identity became an important, often overriding, element in the interpretation and escalation of violence. Reference and further reading 14 dan smith trends and causes of armed conflict. Box 2 key questions for an analysis of conflict causes what are structural causes of conflict. In short, arab spring was mass uprising by people of different countries against strongly entrenched dictatorial regimes i.
This dependent variable of interest in the libyan and syrian conflicts is articulated as the presence or absence of civil war. Water, drought, climate change, and conflict in syria. Geography of conflicts zones of peace and war global peace index part 4. Response congressional research service humanitarian situation. A living child has its whole life as a future, but its ripped off. To my mind, for the purposes of a level sociology you can simplify the causes of this conflict thus. The syrian conflict is as a multilayered struggle involving many actors and interests. Beginning in january 2011 and gathering momentum in midmarch, major protest demonstrations took place throughout syria, including the kurdish areas, meeting brutal. Sources of conflict in the greater middle east 173 some of these interests are specific to the region, but most are closely linked to broader, systemic interests in stability, nonproliferation, energy security, and evolutionary versus revolutionary change. Natural resources, conflict, and conflict resolution. Comparing different theories on the causes of conflict. Syria s economy before the syrian civil war was far from perfect.
Gaddafi quickly gained a reputation as being both unpredictable and aberrant. 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. Irrespective of the original causes of the conflict, a number of other issues will have arisen during the conflict. A history of conflict and international intervention in libya.
History of conflict and international intervention in libya 2 in the bloodless coup of 1969, mohammed idris was overthrown and moamar algaddafi became commander in chief of the armed forces, and the chairman of the revolutionary command council. Post world war 1, the french and the british divided up the middle east into areas of influence. External supporters of both sides treat the conflict as a zerosum game with far reaching and. Corruption in syria causes, effects, and anticorruption.
The syrian crisis did not start over night as said before it has been going on for over a number of years. Syria has not been immune from the wave of prodemocracy agitation that has swept the arab world since the end of 2010. Development of conflict in arab spring libya and syria. Many tools developed for conflict analysis also categorise conflict causes or issues by governance, economics, security and sociocultural factors. What began as a revolt against the assad regime has expanded to an outright civil war and creating a devastating humanitarian crisis within syria. Understanding and explaining the ukraine russia conflict. As the conflict starts to gain a character of a civil war, according. Hof, senior fellow, rafik hariri center for the middle east, atlantic council of the united states and. Postconflict syria is unlikely to be genuinely pluralistic, let alone demo cratic. Prodemocracy protests erupted in march 2011 in the southern city.
Understanding why the conflict began is only possible when these causes are considered together as a holistic whole rather than as standalone explanations. Structural factors present within the country created tensions when the revolutionary wave of the arab spring invested the frustrations of many segments of the. Syrian civil war geneva international centre for justice. From revolution to civil war 78 zones and does not tightly define civil war versus other intrastate conflict. Sep 18, 2018 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 what. They in actual fact may be real reasons why outsiders. Although all these states saw protests and internal conflict as part of the transformation, none of these countries got involved into a fullfledged civil war as was the case with syria. The conflict has left more than 360,000 people dead. As the syria conflict drags into its sixth year, much of the attention has been rightly focused on the significant devastation, turmoil, and soaring casualty. The focus of the conflict is regime change, but the triggers include a broad set of religious and sociopolitical factors, the erosion of the economic health of the country, a wave of political reform sweeping over the middle east and north africa mena and levant region, and challenges. Most of the 1960s were characterized by coups, military revolts, bloody riots, and other civil disorders. Various peripheral and internal actors have played different roles during the various stages of the conflict. 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 high unemployment, limited opportunities for upward mobility, few political freedoms within country arab.
Crs using area of influence data from ihs conflict monitor, last revised january. Within a month following the first wave of protests in. 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. These chequered histories combined by the factors listed below are the driving forces behind unrest in syria. War and conflict in relation to development is part of the a level sociology global development topic.
The syrian people support their government and want no part of the fsas socalled freedom. Syria s descent into armed conflict has been accompanied by another trend equally alarming. Page 4 of 59 syrian war report c p turner 27th april 2018 conflict analysis and resolution information services. What is the main cause of the current conflict in syria. Vikas shah mbe in this article, we speak to kristiina rintakoski, executive director of the crisis management initiative launched by nobel prize winner president martti ahtisaari about global conflict, its relationship with economic inequality. Kenneth mckenzie stated that while baghdadis death may cause a slight disruption to the. People in many middle eastern countries want the right to vote and basically governments who dont. For example, an increase in poverty and grievances are likely to have added to the complexity of conflict resolution or may have even become more important than the original dispute. As of 2020, roughly half of syrias prewar population remains internally displaced 6. The lack of response to these demands was followed by severe and sustained military action against those who protested, and this violence drove.
Definitions and types definitions cow and ucdp conflicts by actors and incompatibility new wars greed and grievance criticism part 3. Egypt and syria merged in 1958 to become the united arab republic. Note the separate alawite area and the separate druze area. However, sectarian rhetoric and perceptions came to prevail in the ensuing conflict. While the arab spring provided the spark, there are number of factors that resulted in syria getting to such a dire state. Regime and rebels are locked in a battle for survival. Discontent with authoritarianism and assad familys long reign of power in syria since the 1970s. This does not mean that syria is exclusively, or even mainly, experiencing. Pdf a conflict analysis of the intergroup conflict in syria. Discontent about the governments response to the drought that beset syria from. While lack of freedoms and economic woes drove resentment of the syrian. Nasty bad men dictators in the middle east dont allow people to vote and oppress anyone who opposes them. This was due to a combination of various factors that led syria down the path of conflict rather than peaceful transformation.
However, the conflict escalated into an internationalized intrastate conflict when regional and global powers split into pro and. Conflict within government structures increases the quantity and quality of corruption on all levels. Syrias war explained from the beginning news al jazeera. Russia entered the conflict in 2015 and has been the assad governments main ally since then.
A peaceful uprising against the president of syria almost eight years ago turned into a fullscale civil war. Syrian conflict has followed a decidedly difference course. In this very active research area economists and political scientists study the causes of war by examining individuals, groups and nation states. Dec 14, 2016 causes and consequences of the civil war in syria below are a few resources focusing on the causes and consequences of the ongoing hopefully soon to be recent civil war in syria. The incomplete democracy and the onset of war, causes and. History, the civil war and peace prospects article pdf available january 2018 with 12,268 reads. Four and a half years of violence have uprooted an estimated 7. External actors and interests as drivers of conflict. Feb 14, 20 the main cause of the conflict in syria is.
Paul collier, an expert on the economics of civil war, estimates that close to fifty armed conflicts active in 2001 had a strong link to natural resource exploitation, in which either licit or illicit exploitation helped to trigger, intensify, or sustain violence. Roots of the syrian crisis institute of peace and conflict. Datasets on intra state conflicts uppsala conflict data program correlates of war project national, ethnic and communal conflicts penn university the failed state index global peace index global conflict trends systemic peace minorities at risk journal of peace research. Apr 09, 2017 syria also moved closer to egypt due to their shared socialist commitments.
Since its start in 2011, the syria conflict has presented significant policy challenges for. Roots of the syrian crisis the institute of peace and conflict studies. Introduction around 18 thousand people by july 20121 have died in syria since the beginning of the uprising in march 2011. In 1961, syria broke this arrangement due to egypts dominance and formed the syrian arab republic. The first step in dealing with conflict is identifying the specific cause of the conflict. The situation worsened after external forces dispatched takfiris and salafists to syria and the involvement of al qaeda expanded. The civil war in syria and the impotence of international politics muriel asseburg and heiko wimmen entering the third year of the con. Conflicts trends armed conflicts in 2006, 2008 and 2011 inter and intra state wars part 2. The syrian government, the opposition rebels, foreign powers and islamic militants are all the architects of the syrian quagmire. Violence escalated and the country descended into civil war as rebel. Foreign backing and open intervention have played a large role in syria s war.
While it is unlikely that any single work is able to provide a comprehensive understanding of the conflict in syria and all of its. War money lost are in millions and innocent lives are lost in thousands. Despite this heavy toll, civil conflicts have been. Although each situation is different, these theories help frame debates, set priorities, and provide alternative lens with which to view specific cases. The causes of the syrian crisis are as complex as the different players in it. However, this is not to deny that some causes and catalysts have been. 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. After nearly two years of conflict syrian society shows increasing signs of coming apart along traditional sectarian faultlines that, in recent years, have been suppressed under a veneer of national unity. Extrajudicial killings, kidnappings, and torture have ravaged the rule of law. If the conflict was not caused by ageold sectarian hatreds released by a. Because of high unemployment and the inability of many syrians to provide for their familys basic needs, much animosity was felt towards the government, for they should have done something to improve the economy. Sectarian situation the syrian conflict is portrayed by many as a sectarian one since a majority of the population was sunni and the president is an alawite, considered a subsect of shias. Syrias humanitarian crisis and the failure to protect. However, the conflict also has a significant set of external.
Both regime and rebels see themselves in a fight for survival that leaves no room for compromise. The context, causes, and consequences of syrian displacement. Understanding the latent causes to the syrian crisis reveals the cold war nature of this conflict. The armed conflict in syria has accelerated in recent months.
It should be pointed out that corruption in syria exists in all systems without exception, at all levels and ranks, due to. Conflict analysis united states institute of peace. Apr 11, 2017 in 2011, arab spring engulfed the substantial proportion of arab region west asia with the start of revolution in tunisia. The root causes of the conflict in somalia history essay.
There have been many grand theories, each based on a certain interpretation of facts in the belief that patterns repeat themselves over and over again. 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. Syrian civil war started in 2011 was the outcome of the opposition against the president bashar alassad regime. The uprising emerged as a response to the arab spring movement that lead to regime change in tunisia and subsequently turned into mass unrest rooted into the discontent with longterm dictatorship and poor economic situation in the country manfreda, n. Aug 16, 20 the conflict in syria began as a protest against the corruption that blighted every aspect of peoples lives and the lack of freedom. Calls for rising up against the ruling syrian president bashar alassads regime. A conflict analysis of the intergroup conflict in syria. Being able to identify the specific cause of the conflict youre dealing with will. The unique make up of syria, the war in iraq, and arab spring are 3 possible causes. Initially, the uprising in syria was not fueled by sectarianism, but rather by unifying political. The sectarian angle crept into the conflict gradually, as the armed rebels, mostly sunnis, began targeting minorities. The devastating civil war that began in syria in march 2011 is the result of complex interrelated factors.
Nasty bad men dictators in the middle east dont allow people to vote. The crosscountry studies on the causes of war constitute the largest part of the. This paper uses syria s civil war to assess potential risk factors to conflict spillover. Finally, the conflict in syria is referred to as the syrian war, encompassing the uprising, the revolution, the civil war and the current internationalised conflict. Causes and consequences of the syrian civil war scholar. The crisis had all the features of a cold war before the direct involvement of the super powers. A cheat sheet1 1 causes of the syrian civil war discontent with authoritarianism and assad family s 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. Initially, the syrian protesters who rose up against the regime of syrian president bashar alassad in 2011 adopted a nonsectarian approach. Causes of the civil war in syria a summary to my mind, for the purposes of a level sociology you can simplify the causes of this conflict thus. 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 war in syria initially was an intrastate conflict between the syrian government and internal armed rebel groups. For the foreseeable future, there is good reason to expect that the conflict will be neither resolved politically nor won militarily. However, the scholarly distinction between civil war and other. Dec 20, 2016 the unique make up of syria, the war in iraq, and arab spring are 3 possible causes.
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