The Syrian Civil War (Essay Sample)

The Syrian Civil War
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The Syrian Civil War
Violence against street protests by Syrians promptly escalated into a civil war about a decade ago. Since then, the Syrian Civil War has become one of the world’s most deadly and humanitarian crises. As the Syrian people continue enduring these unimaginable levels of suffering, what are the lessons learned, and what are the prospects for Syria? This paper attempts to answer these questions by considering the critical factors associated with the persistence of the war. The chosen factors are authoritarianism, lack of U.S./Western involvement, and forced displacement. The article starts by discussing 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.
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 political liberalization and election manipulation facilitate authoritarianism persistence and allow authorities to promote forces supportive of economic liberalization (Heydemann, 2013). Therefore, ending this war requires a political transition from this neo-liberal version