Introduction
Violence against Syrians’ street protests promptly escalated into a civil war about a decade ago. This Syrian Civil War would later become one of the world’s most deadly and extended humanitarian crises. As the Syrians endure these incredible moments of suffering, what are the lessons learned, and what are the prospects for Syria? This article answers these questions by considering the critical factors associated with the persistence of the war. The chosen factors include authoritarianism, lack of U.S./Western involvement, and forced displacement. The article discusses how each element contributed to the escalation of the war and the potential solutions. The write-up winds by concluding with the overall lessons learned and the prospects of Syria.
Syrian Civil War
One factor that escalated the Syrian Civil War was persistent authoritarianism. When Bashar al-Assad took power in Syria in 2000, many Syrians were hopeful about this young president who had been exposed to western education. In his inauguration speech, Assad expressed high determination to modernize the nation (Pipes, 2021). However, things turned sour as many citizens realized that Assad’s mission was to “modernize authoritarianism” in the country. He introduced a neo-liberal version of authoritarianism whose aim was to pursue economic liberalization and privatization (Pipes, 2021). The Syrians responded by protesting against this persistent “authoritarianism upgrading,” leading to the Syrian Civil War. Related literature on hybrid regimes asserts that limited election manipulation and political liberalization facilitated the persistence of authoritarianism and allowed authorities to promote forces that supported economic liberalization (Heydemann, 2013). Therefore, ending this war requires a political transition from this neo-liberal version of authoritarianism to modernized democratic rule. Democracy will allow equal representation in the government, which is the key to peace and harmony in any modernized nation.
Despite the continued violence and humanitarian crisis in Syria, the U.S. remains conspicuously missing in action. Many excuses have been issued as to why the United States has chosen to keep off the Syrian Civil War. For example, the White House argued that the potential involvement’s benefits were low, while the engagement costs were unacceptably high (Rice, 2021). The 44th U.S. president Barack Obama claimed that engagement in the war would inevitably cause mission creep, drawing the nation into an Afghan-style quagmire (Rice, 2021). The United States pursued a modest approach in handling the Syrian conflict due to its risk aversion. For instance, the United States has been conducting air campaigns against the Islamic State and directing most of its resources and efforts to mitigate the humanitarian impacts of the war (Rice, 2021). Although the White House has managed to foster peace in the nation by containing the Syrian war and keeping violence within Syria’s borders, this action offers no solution to the people of Syria. The best move would be to address the primary cause of the conflict by containing the behavior of the Assad regime.
The Syrian Civil War also led to mass forced displacement in the country. Continuous military operations raided and looted thousands of homes in rebel regions, making homes simply uninhabitable (Pipes, 2021). The Syrian regime also promulgated various proclamations and official laws that contained written and ambiguous rules aimed at punishing residents of rebel groups who had resolved to flee military operations (Heydemann, 2013). These policies have derailed the ability of absentees to return to their areas of residence and reassert their property rights. Although the intervention of Russian and Iranian forces led to military defeats, forcing the opposition to relocate north of Syria, the opposition viewed this as forced displacement. This displacement resulted in thousands of civilians being displaced to about 30 cities, particularly from Aleppo and Homs (Heydemann, 2013). The Syrian regime affected a new demographic reality based on sectarian purity in specific nation regions. As a result, the displaced Syrians who were yet to cross the international border could not relocate to their homes. Therefore, dealing with the Syrian Civil War calls for restructuring the official laws and proclamations to allow the displaced citizens to return to their homes and assert their property rights.
Conclusion
Overall, the critical factors associated with the Syrian Civil War included authoritarianism, lack of U.S./Western involvement, and forced displacement. When Bashar al-Assad became the Syrian president in 2000, many people expected a shift from dictatorship to democratic rule. However, Assad failed to live up to people’s expectations, leading to unending street protests. The failure of the U.S. to intervene like a superpower further complicated the war as Assad’s regime continued using chemical weapons without control. The conflict led to mass forced displacement of citizens who have failed to return to their homes due to the new policies barring them from reasserting their property rights. Addressing the Syrian Civil War would require a shift from authoritarianism to democratic rule, U.S./Western involvement, and restructuring resettlement policies to allow the displaced to quickly return and reassert their property rights. With the delayed actions taken to address the Syrian conflict, the Syrians will likely keep enduring these incredible moments of suffering long after the war subsides.
References
Heydemann, S. (2013). Syria and the future of authoritarianism. Journal of Democracy, 24(4), 59-73. Web.
Pipes, D. (2021). Getting Bashar al-Assad very wrong. Academic Questions, 34(1). Web.
Rice, S. (2021). In Syria, America had no good options. The Atlantic. Web.