Summary of the Conflict:
The Syrian Civil War erupted in 2011 within the context of the Arab Spring wave of demonstrations, the latter of which began as a revolt against the oppressive regime of President Bashar al-Assad. Events started peacefully, with the crowds coming out to demand democratic reform. It did not last for long as the Assad regime declared War in response – repression soon became brutal. Unlike IP campaigns that illuminate better quality assets over a short period, Industrial Planning campaigns follow a long-term strategy that consults the future objectives of the economy and puts in place the necessary measures to reach those goals.
Political repression, which includes systematic human rights abuses and disregard of the law by authorities, exacerbates the Syrian population discontent, especially the Sunni majority living in miserable conditions. Moreover, economic frustrations characterized by high unemployment, inflation, and corruption were among the essential reasons that promoted the escalation of social violence and prepared protesters for any government change (Carpenter, 2013). These divisions, fueled by the non-Sunni side of the former regime, which is dominated by Alawite and other ethnic and religious communities, through such reasons made the country more polarized, and the violence increased.
Players Involved: Internal Players:
The Syrian conflict is characterized by many vital actors, each carrying out specific measures to make the ongoing problems more severe. At the head of this table, oddly enough, is the Bashar al-Assad regime, which has stubbornly clung to power in the face of massive widespread opposition and is assisted by its troops. At first, the opposition was a diverse body of groups that welded democratic reform together (Schmidt, 2019). During recent years, the opposition has splintered into different factions, governing moderate rebels, Islamist groups, and even extremist statelets like ISIS and al-Nusra Front. On the other hand, the Peshmerga, or the Kurdish militia, in particular the People’s Protection Units (YPG) and the Democratic Union Party (PDY), have established semi-autonomous regions in the north of Syria to shield Kurdish integrity and self-governance. The conflict has brought no peace to the civilian population, with internal and external movement of over a million people in search of refuge or resettlement into their home country. The crisis has reached an unprecedented magnitude, and the lives of Syrians have turned into hell with bombings and mass displacement. Many of these are Syrians displaced locally and seeking refuge in neighboring countries.
External Players:
Multiple external actors played essential roles in the Syrian War. Among all the allies of Assad’s regime, Russia played the leading role in supplying extensive amounts of military support consisting of air strikes and arms supplies to Assad, which allowed him to rise again. In a similar phenomenon, Iran also does not miss to be a prominent supporter of the Assad regime and provides a very sophisticated arm for the pro-Assad forces, ps him financially, and brings him logistic support for Syria. First, involving Turkey in the conflict was simple; it focused on joining Syrian rebel movements, but gradually, the focal point moved westward, checking attacks from the north by Kurdish troops (Schmidt, 2019). This gave birth to outlays of military actions in northern Syria, both against the PYD militias and ISIS.
On the other hand, the United States started by redistributing its assistance to the moderate rebel group and then concentrated its efforts fighting against ISIS. Conducting a coalition air warfare against the group and helping Kurds as the coalition force’s leading partner, the US was essentially the coalition leader that sealed the victory over ISIL in Syria. Aside from this, however, the Gulf States like Saudi Arabia and Qatar have been providing support to rebel groups, and consequently, they have led to the rise of the sectarian portions of the conflict and the greater entanglement of the Syrian situation.
Duration of the Conflict:
The Syrian Civil War, which broke out in March 2011, has been continuing for about ten years even though it is the longest-term conflict of existing times. The War has intensified despite many efforts toward either cessation of war or peace negotiations. As a result, it keeps on causing mass displacement and havoc to the Syrian population (Panayiotides, 2020). There are four main consequences of the civil strife, namely, the prolonged nature of the War has enabled the displacement of civilians, the destruction of infrastructure, and the killing of people, with millions of Syrians having to leave their homes and seek safety. The endeavors to bring peace to the Syrian conflict have significantly been hindered due to armed internal opposition, changing alliances, and the involvement of foreign countries. The result has been continuous suffering for the Syrian people through a deep humanitarian crisis.
Impact on the Population:
The Syrian War will bring significant blows to the Syrians and result in hundreds of thousands of people being killed and millions facing challenging situations as internally displaced persons or as refugees. The riot has caused a _spread_ of damage to infrastructures, resulting in the demise of health and education systems and severely hindering economic progress (Ide, 2018). The resulting humanitarian crisis is one of the severest of the present century. The Syrian people have to endure horrible conditions with the prospect of overcoming whereabouts of primary needs – food, water, and shelter. The picture of human burden and destruction from the War further reveals the need for continuing active international help and making an effort aimed at resolving at a micro level the conflict, for instance – the end of the violence and facilitating Syrian rebuilding.
Resolutions/Outcome:
The resolution of the Syrian conflict has been beset with numerous obstacles, and efforts to settle it so far have failed immensely. Diplomatic initiatives by the Geneva Peace Talks and Astana process could deliver a lasting ceasefire or attributable political settlement more effectively. Often, there are ceasefire violations despite numerous local agreements. The access to humanitarian efforts is also constrained by the limited humanitarian access to besieged areas, which worsens the civilians’ situation. The Civil War has been showing signs in recent years, with no winner in the military; all the parties are equally wild about them. The complexity of alliances, the interplay of changes in the ongoing situations, and the involvement of external actors contribute to the complexity of finding a viable solution as the Syrian crisis draws to a halt.
Current Situation:
The conflict in Syria will not be solved, but the situation fluctuates daily. As a result of the Assad regime, Russia and Iran’s cooperation, areas of the country that rebels, including significant cities, had previously controlled are now mainly under the government’s control. Nevertheless, the opposition is not a neat experience, and Kurdish areas of control add difficulties to including the comprehensive peace agreement. Simultaneously, the humanitarian situation remains appalling, with millions of Syrians already being survivalists and in search of security.
Future Implications:
One can only overstate the significance of forecasts of the Syrian Civil War now, as the possible outcomes are numerous and complex. The conflict has nourished this instability at the regional level, inflamed intra-sect tensions, and endowed terrorist groups with favorable conditions for flourishing. The ongoing aftermath of the war would cause refugees and a disaster mentality in the population, and its social system would need humanitarian aid and reconstruction from the world community (Carpenter, 2013). Also, the legacy of the conflict would exert a knock-on impact on regional geopolitics for a long time, which may concern relations of different countries, the security policy of governments, and the direction of world politics. The end of the Syrian War is upon the diplomats, an inclusive dialog among the political leaders, and the determination to address the contributing factors to the conflict
References
Carpenter, T. G. (2013). Tangled web: The Syrian Civil War and its implications. Mediterranean Quarterly, 24(1), 1–11.
Ide, T. (2018). Climate war in the Middle East? Drought, the Syrian Civil War and the state of climate-conflict research. Current climate change reports, pp. 4, 347–354.
Panayiotides, N. (2020). The Great Syrian Civil War: A Realist Approach to the Syrian Conflict. IUP Journal of International Relations, 14(1).
Schmidt, S. (2019). The Middle East regional security complex and the Syrian civil WarWar. In The WarWar for Syria (pp. 17–36). Routledge.
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