The Relations Between Syria And Lebanon

Syria and Lebanon are two dramatically different states with a deeply intertwined history. They were both born out of French interventionism following World War 1, and have experienced complex and strained relations ever since. The two nations have both experienced prodigious political turmoil since gaining their independence, with both suffering from civil wars and conflict with their mutual neighbor, Israel. The war and turmoil that has plagued these two countries can be traced back to various competing national interests, as well as a struggle for regional power. The various religious groups in the area have historically formed transnational advocacy networks with the intent of influencing regional politics. These groups have proved to of been a major factor in the history of both nations.

In 1958, Muslims and Christians were not getting along in Lebanon. Lebanon had tensions with Egypt because Christian President Camille Chamoun did not sever ties with the Western countries that attacked Egypt during the Suez Crisis. Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser did not like this. These tensions were also increased more because the Lebanon President liked the Baghdad Pact. The Egyptian President did not like this pact because he thought it went against Arabian nationalism. Egypt and Syria decided to make the United Arabian Republic after this, and Lebanese Muslims pushed their government to join them.The Christians in Lebanon wanted to stay close to the Westerners who attacked during the Suez Crisis. Internal instability when Muslims

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 countries present their ideologies to the outside world as holy nations. Recently there has been significant evidence on major shifts with increasing polarization and creation of new alliances. These strategic actions produce both risks and opportunities; however, in the Middle East, there has been growing sectarianism in the conflicts (El Fadl, 2005). The sectarianism plays a great role in the political conflicts within Saudi Arabia and Iran. While both Saudi Arabia and Iran claim to have theocracy model states based on Islam, Saudi Arabia is considered a Theo-monarchy with strong relations to Wahhabism, a branch of Sunni Islam, while Iran’s political system has democratic components and is based on Shiism (Al-Rasheed, 1996). The differences in religious practices and ethnicity between the two nations have contributed to the dilemma of instability in the Middle

While the U.S. maintained a relatively confusing agenda regarding foreign policies during the Cold War era, its attitudes are clearer in the present as globalization has strengthened connections between all international actors and made it more difficult for some to focus on maintaining hostile outlooks. The U.S. has had a long history with Syria and Israel, as the superpower has struggled to keep the two countries from abusing each-other and has, at times, provided the latter with significant financial and military support. However, U.S. involvement in Israel-Syrian relations has declined significantly in the recent decades, only to emerge in the last few years as a consequence of the fact that the Middle East currently experiences a serious political crisis.

Throughout history the Middle East has been home to some of the most powerful and influential empires in the world. As with all great empires they did not arise without difficulty. Though the Middle East has had periods of great prosperity, it has also had periods of poverty and stagnation. Within the last one hundred years the Middle East has seen many changes relating to borders, religions, and international politics. Much of the changes that have happened originated from diverse ways of thinking especially when it comes to religion and culture. Conflicts that occur in the Middle East such as Israel, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Afghanistan have monumental effects on the global economy predominately due to the massive oil industry in the region and competition between outside nations trying to expand influence.

The topic for this capstone project is “Saudi Arabia versus Iran and the Ongoing Sunni-Shia Conflict”. The paper will delve into the historical split between the Sunni and the Shia, as well as the relationship between Saudi Arabia and Iran given the fact that Saudi Arabia is a predominantly Sunni state while Iran is a predominantly Shia state. Evidently, this ancient divide is contributing in one way or the other to the resurgence of conflict in Muslim countries especially in the Middle East. For instance, it is this struggle between the Sunni and the Shia that feeds the current Syrian civil war, which is threatening to change the Middle East. The divide has also fueled violence in other Gulf countries such as Iraq, Bahrain, Yemen, as well as Lebanon. Notably however, the entire conflicts are not defined in respect to this Shia Sunni divide since there are many other economic, political, as well as geostrategic factors that fuel the conflicts. Nonetheless, the split is one prism that can help in understanding these tensions (Luomi 36). The two nations of Saudi Arabia and Iran are competing for power and leadership in the Islamic world; consequently, they are employing many tactics including the sectarian divide to attain these ambitions.

In the minds of people today, the Middle East is a country of terrorism, violence, and war. What they fail to realize is that there are reasons behind the instability in the region. There have been many factors that have contributed to the unsteadiness of the Middle East today. In addition to the collapse of the Gunpowder Empires, particularly the Ottoman Empire, the countries of the Middle East have also suffered from ongoing religious divisions, wars and revolts in the area, and western intervention, particularly in oil and arms.

When people generally think of Middle East, they either picture newly developed Arab economies or Muslim dominated volatile regions. However, the Middle Eastern society mentioned in Taking sides is not limited to the few nations defined by geo political lines drawn in the map, rather it is a complexly mixed society of religious factions, different ethnic group and political ideologies, each separated within boundaries of nations. As modern history goes, these factions within the Middle Eastern nation has always contributed hostility to the entire region. Primarily, the faction between Sunni and Shiite fundamentalist can be traced as root cause of

In this day and age, we find ourselves at odds with our “identity” as we find that not only are we representing ourselves, but we also have ties to religion, sect, tribe, and family (Angrist). This shows that despite the cohesiveness and threads that attach us, it has the power to pull people, families, and in some cases countries apart. This conflict comes to a head when religion and ethnicity are interwoven. Hence when divisions occur, this can lead to violent wars that destroy trust between individuals. This can ingrain a sense of uneasiness and distrust that plagues people’s ideas and leaves a country divided. This is particularly evident in Lebanon. Ethnic and religious division led to the festering of feelings of marginalization and discrimination, which boiled over into the Lebanese civil war, a war that claimed the lives of 150,000 people (Szekely). The anger and frustration birthed from this to chaos, and conflict has in turn increased the division between ethnic and religious factions and led to the crumbling of Lebanese nationalism. This essay is specifically aimed at assessing the relationships between ethnic and religious divisions in Lebanon and explores how it contributed to the civil war. This is done by identifying and analyzing the main actors and makes an explanation of the historical divisions stemming from the National Pact, branching out to include the consequences of the civil war on the political structures and the identities of the

Since the September 11th 2001 attacks on the soil of the United States of America, the country has been engaged in a war on terror, particularly with the group Al Qaida. At first the country of Syria was an ally of the nation in its endeavors against terrorism until the point when the United States went to war with Iraq and its leader Saddam Hussein in the mid-2000s. The relationship between the United States and Syria has been continually strained. Some of those who have authority and power in the United States advocate governmental interference over the issues of Syrian interference in Lebanon, over its relationship with the Palestinians, its record of violations of human rights against its own people, and its continual development of weapons of mass destruction despite direct order from the United Nations. Since 2011, there have been mass demonstrations in Syria to protest Bashar al-Asaad, the country's tyrannical ruler. The question at hand has then become whether or not the United States should intervene in the events in Syria or not.

A transformed Middle East has shaken traditional relationships with former allies. Indeed, there was a time when Washington coordinated effectively with leaders like the monarchs Hussein, Hassan and Abdullah; or Sadat, Mubarak, even Arafat, who could deliver their constituencies and act on the Arab stage. No longer. The rise of Iran, largely as a result of the Arab world’s melt­down and the U.S.­Iran nuclear agreement, has strained relations further. And if America lacks partners on whom it can rely, how in essence can it manage problems effectively, let alone lead to resolve them? A transformed Middle East has shaken traditional relationships with former allies. Indeed, there was a time when Washington coordinated effectively with leaders like the monarchs Hussein, Hassan and Abdullah; or Sadat, Mubarak, even Arafat, who could deliver their constituencies and act on the Arab stage. No longer. The rise of Iran, largely as a result of the Arab world’s melt­down and the U.S.­Iran nuclear agreement, has strained relations further.

The Hezbollah warfare stems back to the establishment of the Israel as a nation and its retaliation against Arab rivalry (Levy & Thompson 6). Through Hizballah, Arabians from Syria and Iran, engaged Israel in combat. Evidently, the acquisition and possible notion of distribution of weapons among the states surrounding Lebanon, acted as catalysts of the Hezbollah warfare. Additionally, as indicated by Levy & Thompson (5), the conflict of interests over power, territory and resources emerged among states and civil societies with the aim of controlling the sovereignty of Lebanon. Consequently, the warfare had a political background because of the confessional system of government in Lebanon which highly favored the Christians more than the Muslims (Tür 109). As a result, the

Geographical position has made a significant influence on the development of Syrian cultural achievements. In fact, Syria was located on the area between Mediterranean ports and Asian trade ways. This peculiarity contributed to economical welfare of the country and, as a result, cultural prosperity (Standish, 2010, p.12). Syria’s climate influenced on the forming national material culture. To illustrate, weather patterns are rather various “across the country, ranging from the hot, dry summers inland to warm, humid summers on the coast; winters are chilly and dry on the coast, and more biting inland, with

1 Kamrava, Mehran. The Modern Middle East: a Political History since the First World War. Berkeley: University of California, 2005. 132. Print.