Syria Case Study

The Syrian Civil War has had a profound effect of all Syrians as well as neighbouring countries and the international community. With more than 11 million homeless Syrians comes consequences beyond what most of the world population has ever experienced or anticipated. Of the displaced, almost 5 million are refugees outside Syria and around 6 million have been displaced inside Syria, with half of all displaced Syrians being children. The main causes of displacement amongst the population is the violence committed by all sides of the war, and which often targets civilians or centres of high civilian activity (such as markets, hospitals, schools, workplaces or high density residential areas). One main group heavily affected by the conflict

The key questions that motivate my paper are: In what ways did the great powers got involved and what were the consequences? In this paper, great powers mainly referring to the Unites States and the Soviet Union. Before we start, the definition of a great power that will be used in the rest of the paper. Per the definition, a great power is a sovereign state that is recognized as having the ability and expertise to exert its influence on a global scale. They characteristically possess military and economic strength as well as diplomatic and soft power influence, which may cause middle or small powers to consider the great powers’ opinions before

In the post -World War II era, the competition of global supremacy between the superpowers of the time, United States and the Soviet Union resulted in the Cold War. Many countries in the world were pulled into this rivalry including many of the states of the Middle East. Allies against the Soviet Union received substantial quantities of United States aid and were encouraged to purchase weapons of Western means. Those who were in opposition to the United States’ power received economic and military assistance from the Soviet Union. The United States were inclined to view the rivalry between them and the Soviet Union as a vie for global supremacy. The challenge of attaining democracy in the Middle East has been insufficient leadership specifically in those who shared a common border and were in proximity to the Soviet Union. The United States, in their determination to impede the threat of expansion of the borders of the Soviet Union as well as contain the spread of communion, provided economic and military assistance to keep Iran, Iraq and Turkey politically stable. Although this was the goal of the United States, they actually impeded the democracy and political stability of these countries through its persistent influence in government affairs, determining its future’s livelihood.

The parties involved in many civil wars are often not just limited to the country in which the war is actually taking place. Often, other countries will give aid to one side of the conflict or even involve their own military forces. Recent examples of such occurrences include Russian, American, and Turkish involvement in the present Syrian Civil War and the NATO bombing campaign during the Kosovo War. These countries expend massive amounts of resources and lose great numbers of troops in these conflicts often to uncertain ends. This begs the question: Why do foreign powers involve themselves in the civil wars of other countries? It is possible that such interventions occur because the intervening party believes that they could make strategic gains by doing so. Another theory is that countries intervene when they feel that there is a moral obligation to get involved in the conflict (Kim 2012, 19). However, even when circumstances seem to be in favor of a foreign power intervening, they do not involve themselves. This paper will test these hypotheses by examining the intervention by the United States and Russia primarily in the current Syrian Civil War and attempt to discern their motives for

The civil war that continues to rage in Syria for the past five years has been one of both great loss and great interest. Several key actors from around the world such as the United States, Russia, Turkey, the Syrian government, Syrian rebels or National Coalition, Iran, and Saudi Arabia all have a great amount at stake based on the outcome of the war. Thus, the difficulties of negotiating peace are almost impossible to overcome, which causes great powers like that of the U.S. and Russia to use their resources in order to obtain their desired outcome. In this essay, I will be outlining the key actors, which side they are on, and what is at stake for each of them within this civil war, as well as examining how this turmoil has “[created] a haven for the Islamic State to move in.” Now let us identify the key actors who have a stake in this civil war.

Another specific conflict area that this paper will examine is Syria. The area, today known as Syria, is in a unique location which has made it subject to many empires, including the Roman and Ottoman. Since the area has been at the center of history for thousands of years it is home to a diverse ethnic and religious culture. Currently the country is home to “Kurds, Armenians, Assyrians, Christians, Druze, Alawite Shia and Arab Sunnis, the last of who make up a majority of the Muslim population,” (BBC). Prior to World War I, the area was under control of the Ottoman Empire, after the war the empire was broken up and France took control of the area. In 1946, France granted Syria independence, and the country has been dealing with political instability ever since. From 1958-1961, Syria joined up with Egypt to create the United Arab Republic. The following years brought about a succession of upheavals within the government. In the 1960’s the Arab-nationalist group, Baath, took over power, and in 1970 one of their leaders, Hafiz al-ASAD, took control, which brought about political stability. In 1967 there was a war taking place between Israel and Syria, which resulted in Israel occupying a southwestern region of the country. In 1970, Syria’s neighbor of Lebanon broke out into civil war and Syria extended their military power into that country. The Baath government has been known to be a strong authoritative power and has powerful anti-western policies in place that

A History of Government sponsored oppression in Syria, the Soviet Union and the Quin Dynasty.

To stop the Russian aggression, both Presidents layout the need for global community support in this initiative to stop the Russian aggression. The combined diplomatic powers along with the nation and will of the world would serve as deterrence and convince the Soviet/Russian nation that such aggression would serve no one and only impact heavy tolls on their own economy. Even beyond the specific threats from the Soviet Union/Russia, both documents point towards the unification of states to fight the threat and actions for terrorism. Particular focus is given to the Middle East region as this continues to be an area that is ripe for failing states and an extremely turbulent area that is under constant attack from idealist, fanatics and jihadist. To keep the will of the people around the world around, countries can hardly act alone when it comes to any actions it takes outside its own boarders. An opinion of where there is one country by itself, there is an opinion. Where there is several, there is a

Syria, an important and influential country in the Middle East resides on the four corners of Africa, Asia, and Europe. Syria’s history dates back many centuries and covers the multi-highway of commerce and religion. Both the ancient Silk Road between the Mediterranean and China and the Pilgrim’s Road to Mecca pass routed throughout Syria. Although the country’s population is 86% Muslim, the oldest Semitic language of Aramaic written in parts of the Hebrew Bible is still spoken today.

The Syrian Wars were one of the most devastating in the Hellenistic world; they changed the political and economic landscape of the region permanently in a way that hadn 't happened since the conquests of Alexander. These wars brought about the end of the Pharaohs, they allowed Rome to come and seize Egypt and Syria, and Parthia to annex what was left of the Seleukid dynasty. The massive impact these wars had upon the Hellenic world cannot be understated. Egypt would never rise to its former glory. It would become another province of Rome, later to be held by the Byzantines, and then Fatimids, where it would not regain true independence until 1922, shaking itself from British colonial rule. It is a shame that these wars are not given the rigorous study that they deserve. This paper aims to explore the Syrian Wars in three ways. It will begin with discussing how the death of Alexander the Great and his inability to form a sustainable bureaucracy and a proper heir set the stage for his generals to fight each other for his empire. It will focus upon the actions of Ptolemy and his successors, and their role in the Syrian wars, and how Ptolemaic power declined as the wars raged on. It will conclude by explaining how the aftermath of these wars lead to the demise of Ptolemaic power, and their eventual absorption into Rome. Because of the length of the timeline that will be discussed here (this paper will attempt to describe 200 years of history in under 15 pages), a narrative

Syria is located in the Middle East and the capital of Syria is Damascus. Although this can be a diverse region, the official language of Syria is Arabic. Even though the official language is Arabic, there are many more languages spoke there such as, Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, and Circassian. The region’s population is about 22.5 million people. Syria’s largest mountain is Mount Hermon and the longest river is Euphrates. Syria is also home to Lake Assad, which is the largest lake in Syria (Operation World). Syria’s economy is based on its exports. Syria is known for their oil, petroleum, and cotton fiber (Operation World). The United States has tried to get ahold of the oil in the Middle East. During the Gulf War in the Middle East, between 1967 and 1973, the United States sided with Israel. This led to the oil embargo, where the Arabs refused to sell oil to the United States for a short time. This led to an energy crisis in the United States (Hobbs, 178). In Syria and much of the Middle East they also grow a lot of food. Some of their main agriculture is wheat, barley, and cotton (Syria Facts). Syria has a very fertile plain because it is along the Mediterranean coast which provides good soil for growing crops. However, over half of Syria

Syria has been the epicenter of wars and prosperity for many decades. Whether it’s the Syrian-Franco war that gave their independence, or the flood of Universities that entered in the 1950’s; it’s always been a mixed bag with Syria. Many people will look at the destabilize modern Syria and wonder “How did it get to this point?”, well in reality it was not one event rather a concurrency of events that all led up to Syria’s likely demise.

Have you ever taken the time to look around you at your surroundings? Or taken a moment to reflect on the experiences you have had that have had a big impact on your life? Have you ever thought about the fact that they could affect and shape the person that you are? That the only thing making you you, is your experiences and what you are exposed to everyday? Well, you may not realize it but this is the case. Everything around you and your experiences impact you, shape you and make up the person that you are.

The Middle East region has been marred by deadly wars throughout many decades. Curiously though, the United States, Russia, Jews and Islamic parts are ever present parties in these circuses. They dictate the politics of the region and more importantly, its stability. The 1980s Afghanistan war and the current Syrian war are justifications of the above sentiments. This paper intends to highlight the role of the aforementioned parties in the afghan war and compare it to the Syrian debacle.

There is no dispute that the Middle East, for the past century, has been a region plagued with tension and conflict. Differences in religion and ethnicity have been the source for hundreds of thousands of deaths, and the progression of those issues have shown very little evidence of slowing down as the bloodshed continues. Many parties on the global scale fear that the combination of evolving technology and weaponry, and desire to harness nuclear power, is fueling the hatred that some of the countries in the area have for one another and will eventually lead to an extremely disastrous nuclear war. As a result, international global organizations, such as the United Nations, have been working to prevent such an outcome. They are