by Muhammad Shahzad

1) Thesis Statement

The ongoing Syrian civil war is considered one of the bloodiest civil wars in the history of the Middle East. The Syrian Civil War is the outcome of a combination of domestic repression, economic grievances, sectarian tensions, and regional geopolitics. The Authoritarian regime in the form of Basher ul Assad’s political and economic reforms over decades is one of the major factors that created a catastrophic crisis in Syria.

2) Bird’s eye view of the Syrian Civil War: Role of rebellions in the current political spectrum

3) Causes of Syrian civil war:

a) Political Causes.

b) Authoritarian Rule and Political Repression

c) Assad’s skirmishes with the Arab States.

d) Role of the Regional Actors.

e) Sectarian and Ethnic Tensions

f) Role of International actors.

g) Rise in the growth of extremism in the region.

h) Religious factors

i) Role of the opposition groups in Syria.

4) Syria Continues to Suffer as the Battle Ground for being left like the Proxy Warfare

5) Conclusion

Introduction

Syria is one of the most important countries in the Middle East in terms of geographic and strategic location. The population of Syria is approximately 23 million making it one of the most populous countries in the region. Syria is divided into over 14 governorates. Arabs represent 80 to 85 percent of the population and the rest of the populations are Kurds, Turkishs and Albanese. The civil war of Syria has transformed the demographic status of Syria. It is estimated that more than six million refugees left the country during the last few decades owing to civil war. Recently, the whole political scenario of the country has changed due to toppling of the Bashar ul Assad’s government. The fall of Bashar ul Asad’s government in Syria changed the geo- political tension in the region. Bashar ul Assad’s government lasted in Syria from 2004 to 2024. After the fall of Bashar ul Asad’s government, the number of air strikes has increased on Israel’s part. Israel says its air strikes destroyed most of Syria’s strategic stockpiles. Israel attacked the naval bases, military bases and other strategic points in Syria. The Israeli diplomats were of the view that it is pertinent to attack the strategic points of Syria they argued that the planes, guns night vision goggles and other weapons are not safe if they are in the hand of rebels and these outfits may become challenging for Israel in the Middle East. Owing to these attacks the Syrian defense system went down within a short period of time. Such as: Afghan conundrum, Kashmir issue, etc. Syrian crisis is considered as one of the deadliest crises in the world. There are multiple factors which are involved in the ongoing crisis in Syria such as; Political crisis, authoritarian rule and political repression, Assad’s skirmish relations with the Arab states, role of regional and international actors and the rise of fanaticism in the region. These factors are the major reasons for Syria’s decline during the last few decades. The 2011 Arab Spring is a major factor in Syria for Political Transformation. Syria is considered as one of the most strategic allies of Russia during the period of Assad’s government, moreover Iran along with its axis of resistance has always supported Assad’s government in Syria. Because of the involvement of international and regional actors Syria turned into a battle that serves in the best interest of the above international and regional actors. In addition, the humanitarian situation in Syria remains intact and even worse as thousands of people are still facing health issues. Refugees in camps face overcrowding and limited access to basic necessities of life.  In terms of extremism, the militant groups are rising in the different regions of Syria. Assad’s government is considered as the sign of resistance for these extremist groups in Syria. Now, most of the political analyst argues that the fall of Asad government may re-unite these extremist groups in Syria as well as in the region.

Recent Development in Syria from November to Onwards

Syria shares its border with Turkey from its northern region, since November 2024, Turkey has been launching many attacks from its southern part into Syria focusing on the regions under the control of Kurdish forces. In Syria, the Kurdish Worker Party (KWP) is operated by the Kurdish groups and Turkey allegedly opposes these groups in Syria. The wave of transformation originated from the Southern part of Syria under the leadership of Hafs Hamvi, the head of the Hayat Tehrir ul Shams (HTS). This group has been working to toppled of Assad Government in Syria. Due to this chaotic situation, the president of Syria Bashar ul Asad has fled to Russia. Tehran ordered his guards in Syria, who have been settled in Syria for the past few decades. The whole political landscape of a country was transformed within a short period and the Hayat Tehrir Shams (HTS) group came into power under the leadership of Hafs Hamvi. Since the start of December, Israel has been bombing on the different regions in Syria. Due to these targeted attacks, hundreds of civilian have died and, once again Syria is facing severe economic and humanitarian crisis. It is a reality that peace in Syria is very crucial for the development of the region. In short, peace in Syria means peace in the Middle East. Most of the political experts believed that this situation will not slow down over the fall of Aasad’s government. They argued that there are many ethnic groups in Syria who are willing to control Damascus. The tug of war to control Damascus will further change the demographic and political circumstances of Syria.

Driving force of the Syrian Civil War: Causes and Catalysts

The Syrian civil war started in the midst of 2011s. Multiple factors have contributed to the Syrian civil war including the role of regional and international actors. Firstly, International actors such as Russia, the United States of America, Great Britain and others are playing significant role in the geo- politics in the Middle East. The Baath party had lead Syria more than fifty years. Russia has maintained strategic and political ties with Syria for decades. In the Middle East, Syria and Iran are Russia’s strongest allies. These two countries consistently protected the Russian’s interest. On the other hand, the United States, along with his allies, has always opposed the Russian influence in the regions. The United States has continually tried to maintain its supremacy in the Middle East. To sustain their dominance, Russia and Iran have often created obstacles to US’ interest. Thus, Syria has become the battle ground between the western and Russia, and also between the two Islamic school of thought in Islam such as Shia and Sunnis. In short, alongside other factors religion is also a major factor to the Syrian civil war.

Secondly, Assad government has had strained relations with the other Arab states. Middle Eastern Politics revolves around two majors actors: Saudi Arabia and Iran. Bashar ul Asad had poor relations with the Arab states and due to this unfavorable situation, diplomatic and bilateral ties remained tense during his presidency. Consequently, regional actors under the leadership of Saudi Arabia and United States succeeded in toppling the Bashar ul Asad government.

Thirdly, like other contributing factors, ethnic divisions and rise of extremism played major roles in further destabilizing Syrian political system, ultimately leading to civil war. Syria is home of many ethnic groups, each of which has received directly or indirectly support from the regional and international powers. Acting on the agendas of these actors, many of these groups opposed the Bashar al-Asad regime. After years of struggle, they succeeded in toppling his government.

Last but not the least, Bashar ul Asad is considered one of the major dictators. Following the wave of Arab Spring, dictator became unpopular among the Arab people. A political shift from dictatorship to democracy has been spreading in the Middle East. Under such an unfavorable condition, it became difficult for Bashar ul Asad’s government to maintain the status. The seeds of Arab spring were among of the major factors that led chaos and mayhem in Syria.

Critical Theory: A case Study of Syria Civil war

The term Critical Theory represents a profound challenge to mainstream theories like Realism, Liberalism, and Neo-realism; these are often seen as state-centric, positivist, and focused on maintaining the status quo in international politics. In International Relations, critical school is rooted in the Intellectual traditions of Marxism, and post-structuralism. Its purpose is to uncover hidden Power structures, challenge dominant ideologies, and promote social justice on global stage. According to the critical theorists, Syria is a battle ground between two major’s international actors and significant regional powers. Hence, Conflict has been escalating for decades.  Both of these powers are attempting to maintain their hegemony in the region.

Post-Structuralism Theory: A case Study of Syria Civil War

Post-structuralism is an intellectual movement that emerged in the 1960s and 1970s in France, as a response to structuralism and other forms of modernist thought. Structuralism seeks to uncover underlying structures that govern language, culture, society, and more. Post-structuralism challenges the idea of fixed, universal meanings and emphasizes the instability of meaning, the role of power in knowledge production, and the fluidity of identity and truth. While some of its roots can be traced to the post–World War II period, post-structuralism fully emerged as a distinct theory later. According to proponents of post-structuralism, modern warfare is ideological in nature. Post-structuralism rejects the structuralism notions that dominate the world. In short, post-structuralism is a modern concept used to understand global power politics. Its dimensions or approaches to understanding the world system differ from others. Hence, post-Structuralists argue that power is not concentrated in the hands of a single person. In the case of Syria, the war is not just a straightforward struggle between the Assad regime, opposition groups, and external powers, but also a contest over narratives.

Syria Continues to Suffer as the Battle Ground for the Proxy Warfare

In the Middle East, Syria has been a site of proxy war between the USA and Russia, and between Iran and Saudi Arabia, for almost 12 years. Analysts estimate that the conflict has killed more than half a million people and displaced 7 million Syrians around the world. The United States provided military assistance in the form of weapons to insurgent groups in Syria that opposed the Bashar al-Asad government. Due to support from both international and national actors, the government of Bashar al-Asad was overthrown, and Hafs Hamvi came into power. The United States provided one billion dollars in arms to strengthen its partners in the region in an effort to overthrow the Asad regime. On the other hand, Russia spent millions of dollars in Syria to preserve the Asad government. Both powers are spending millions of dollars in the region to protect their interests. The Asad government no longer exists in Syria, and Hafs Hamvi controls Damascus. The repercussions of arms usage by both sides, without any transparency in military operations and weapons trade, have left the country in decades of mourning and loss. It is a reality that when two great powers fight, the country as well as the region suffers. Similar situations were seen in the Korean War, Afghan War, and Iraq War. There is a famous English proverb: “When two elephants fight, the grass suffers.” Both America and Russia have repeatedly stated that their core objective in Syria is to defeat extremist groups and terrorist outfits. American interests in the region are not favorable to Russian interests and vice versa. Apart from these international actors, regional actors like Saudi Arabia and Iran are also at odds. Both Iran and Saudi Arabia have multiple approaches to dealing with Syria, depending on their interests in the region. International bodies have not succeeded in playing their role in maintaining peace, prosperity, and security. The United Nations seems to be a toothless tiger because it has not achieved its goals and objectives in the region.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, Syria is a battleground between the world’s two powers, Russia and America. The fall of Bashar al-Asad’s government in Damascus has changed the entire political scenario in the region. The Israeli military is now attacking various parts of Syria. HTM, backed by Hamvi, has taken control of Damascus and seized much of the power in Syria. Regional actors like Turkey have supported the conflict from their southern territory. Meanwhile, a wave of resistance started in the southern part of Syria and gradually spread across the country. The Syrian army refused to support the Bashar al-Asad government, and most of its military leaders have laid down their weapons in protest. Peace in Syria is a dire need for the Middle East, as peace in Syria means peace for the world. The conflict in the region has not slowed down following the fall of the Asad government, and the repercussions of this civil war have had a devastating impact on the region. International Organizations (IOs) should fulfill their roles and responsibilities to help maintain peace and prosperity in the region and ensure the safety and well-being of the Syrian people.