Syrian Activists ' Main Goals

“The community’s blunt outrage over the children’s arrests and mistreatment, the government’s humiliating and violent reactions to their worries and the people’s refusal to be cowed by security forces embolden and helped spread the Syrian opposition.” This notion demonstrates that the killing of the four protestors was only the first of many deaths to occur continuing into an on-going war that has: “…triggered nationwide protests demanding President Assad’s resignation.” Because of this, the Syrian government decided that in order to handle the issue they must crush this nationwide dissent. This in return only allowed the protestors to push harder for a change within the country of Syria, in hopes of it becoming the wonderful country that it was in the years prior to the war. “Syria’s conflict has devolved from peaceful protests against the government in 2011 to a violent insurgency that has drawn in numerous other countries.” “With neither side able to inflict a decisive defeat on the other, the international community long ago concluded that only a political solution could end the conflict in Syria.”

Much of the international news right now seems to relate to the crisis situation created by the civil war in Syria. The topic is on the minds of politicians, especially regarding the Syrian refugees hoping to escape the dangers of the war. Syrian rebels are attempting to overthrow the existing government. Some of these rebels have the support of the United States while others, such as those who are connected to ISIS, do not. Russia has intervened on the side of the Syrian government. The reasoning for their intervention is perceived differently depending on the political theory followed in the explanation. The three major theories in international relations are realism, liberalism, and constructivism -- each of which will be discussed in terms of how they would explain the Russian intervention in Syria.

Syria’s civil war is the worst humanitarian crisis of modern time. The “Syrian Civil war Began in March of 2011, between rebel brigades and government force; economy and infrastructure is destroyed” (Library, 2016). “Divisions between secular and religious fighters, and between ethnic groups, continue to complicate the politics of the conflict” (Corps, 2016). Additionally, the Syrian civil war has taken a significant

This memo seeks to offer insight into the current emergency in Syria and how it threatens the security of US. It is hoped that it will help shape US foreign policy for Syria with the aim of protecting Americans from acts of terrorism and at the same time save the lives of Syrians.

Before World War I, the countries of Europe competed with one another in a race to colonize the world. The end of World War I brought national sovereignty, and an end to colonization to the forefront of the Allies’ concerns as they drew up plans for peace, and as a result, the Allied countries received former enemy colonies to watch over and guide to independence1. As a result of this mandate system, among other colonies, France received Syria. Instead of guiding Syria to independence, however, as the conflict dragged on, France forgot its mission and attempted to subdue Syrian resistance to her humanitarian efforts. This paper will address the following questions: Who is more to blame for the violence, the Syrians or the French? What did

A current issue on the minds and agendas of the international community is the Syrian Refugee Crisis. The situation has only escalated since its start in 2011, and as the number of displaced Syrians reaches over 9 million, countries around the world, not just the ones in the Middle East, are increasing efforts to offer asylum and aid for these people. The Syrian Refugee Crisis began with peaceful anti-government protests in March of 2011, but after the violent response of the government, rebels, army defectors, and many civilians formed the Free Syrian Army by July of the same year (Mercy Corps, Sept 2nd, 2015). The presence of ISIS within Syria and the differing views of religious groups (namely Sunni and Shiite) in the country only add to the chaos of destruction of the country and the Syrian people’s lives and homes. With the constant state of war within the country, basic necessities like food, water, and shelter have become scarce and Syrian people are looking to find new homes of stability and safety. The large majority of Syrians have fled to the neighboring countries of Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, and Turkey. However the burden of harboring these refugees has put huge stress on the countries as the sheer number of people entering the country becomes too much to handle. Today one in five people living in Lebanon is a Syrian refugee (Mercy Corps, Sept 2nd, 2015). With the neighboring countries already beyond capacity, Syrians are looking for shelter in places outside this

The Syrian Congress was not fit, in the eyes of the French government, to act as a fully autonomous state. This despite the fact they constructed their constitution on a westernized democratic style, made up of a parliamentary republic with a "single Chamber to be elected, for four years, by universal suffrage exercised in two stages." Although it certainly appeared to be setting the nation on the right track toward what would have been a democratic, and possibly even prosperous society, the French government denied their path to democracy at that time, and instead implemented their own constitution over Syria a year later. This instance made it terrifyingly clear that the loaded, Eurocentric Mandate-language of permitting “circumstances”

It has been four years and is a lone crisis’ that is most sought to be assisted. Firstly, in order to contribute, there must be awareness and realization of the fact that this issue is not solely affecting Syria and Syrians. People need to care and talk about it. They have to know that this crisis is not independent. Secondly, people need to contribute and support Syrian Refugees: whether a generous donation or a small donation from many, it will impact the lives of several families. These small actions can lead to bringing clean water and food to people, improving shelters, giving families some basic household needs and attempting to provide coping methods for some of the terrors that young children and adults have been faced with. Both knowledge and provision can create global response. This will bring resources to refugees who need it to survive and aid when executing the reconstruction of

Syria’s civil war has overflows of violence all around the world. Groups like ISIS who feel as if the west has caused the plight of the Arabs or Muslims will attempt to retaliate against the west, curbing that overflow by funding NGO’s, United Nations agencies, and other programs that are assisting in putting an

The American way of helping those in need has been lost in the midst of terrorist attacks in a foreign country. The denying of Syrian refugees from coming into the United States has marked the decline of our hospitable ways. We are so fearful of a terrorist attack that the majority of Americans have went against the American way of helping by denying Syrian refugees access to the United States in their time of great need.

So what does this mean? This means that the UN has recognized what Syria has been doing to its citizens, but as of yet, they have been unable to reach consensus on what their punishment should be. But as they take more and more time to find a suitable punishment, the genocide continues.

Syrians are now the largest refugee population in the world (Mercy Corps). The numerous violence against civilians has been denouncing it by the Arab League, the European Union, the United States and other countries,(Civil War Fast Facts).The term “genocide” is one of the reasons of deaths of Syria. Syria was focused on the humanitarian crisis. Additionally the security and interest around the world. It’s an unfortunate event because Assad and his civilians are bombing each other.

The United Nations Security Council responded to growing threats posed by terrorism in Syria along with humanitarian concerns in the country with Resolutions 2150 and 2249, the first of which calls on member states to fight genocide and crimes against humanity. The latter resolution gives member states authority to fight terrorist groups and prevent terror acts. It specifically mentions ISIL, ANF, and Al Qaeda, but leaves intervention open to combat all other terrorist groups. This constitutes the authorization by the Council for the use of force in a non-member state, in the interest of international peace and security. Following these resolutions, Syria has seen worsening violence, ongoing civil war, and increased refugees resulting in an estimated eleven million displaced Syrians. Many scholars have sought to evaluate how this authorization affects the legitimacy of the UN Security Council, and most of the arguments made fall into one of three schools of thought: liberalism, constructivism, or realism. Liberal conceptualizations take as a given the inherent value of the institution and may seek reform of the procedural aspects. Constructivism views legitimacy as a product of perception and tries to consider the Syrian intervention in terms of how member states and non-member states viewed the Council and the extent to which they believe it was legitimate in the authorization. The realist interpretation evaluates legitimacy under the

The Syrian refugee crisis has received massive media coverage. People around the world are trying to comprehend the desperate, complicated situation surrounding Syria. The civil war in Syria is the worst crisis in our time. Syrians upset at the fact that long promised reforms have not been enacted, began anti-government demonstrations which started the civil war in 2011. The peaceful protests turned ugly, with the government violently putting an end to those protests. Afterward, ordinary citizens took arms, causing the situation to escalate. Syrians are fleeing their homes because of the great violence, which have left thousands dead and millions wounded, a collapsed infrastructure, resulting in a shattered economy, and for the safety of the children. Syrians are either streaming to surrounding countries or risking their lives to travel to Europe.

Syrian civil war started in 2011 was the outcome of the opposition against the President Bashar al-Assad regime. The uprising emerged as a response to the Arab spring movement that lead to regime change in Tunisia and subsequently turned into mass unrest rooted into the discontent with long-term dictatorship and poor economic situation in the country (Manfreda, n.d.). The number of Syrian citizens killed in the civil war reached 140000 since March 2011 (SBS 2014). The European Commission (2014, 2) reports approximately 9.3 million civilians “in need for humanitarian assistance”. The scale of armed rebellion between government and opposition that lead to an increasing number of casualties among civilians did not remain unnoticed by the