Geography, resources and the geopolitics of middle east. The syrian civil war, which began in earnest at the end of 2011, has become a regional and arguably a sectarian conflict. By reva bhalla international diplomats will gather jan. In march 2011 antigovernment protests broke out in syria, inspired by a wave of similar demonstrations elsewhere in the middle east and north africa that had begun in december 2010. The free syrian army fsa is a loose conglomeration of armed brigades formed in 2011 by defectors from the syrian army and civilians backed by the united states, turkey, and several gulf countries. Only days before the conference was scheduled to begin, a controversy threatened. Syria keys the syria conflict and the geopolitics of the region jane kinninmont.
A perspective on the evolving geopolitics in the middle east 108 margalla papers 2015 worlds oldest civilizations the babylonians, sumerians, mesopotamia and the nile civilization, birthplace of the worlds major religions judaism, christianity and islam and the. Riyadh is governed by a wahhabiinfluenced monarchy that seeks to legitimize itself through. Apr 11, 2018 damascus aht the perfidious role of human rights organizations in the war on syria has been exposed again with the amnesty international report on syria for 201718, followed by an equally tendentious article in the melbourne age newspaper by claire mallinson, amnestys national director for australia. The geopolitics of the syrian civil war tuesday, january 21, 2014 03. Not only is it a place where both the hope and repression of the arab. The battle over syrias reconstruction hinnebusch 2020 global. The syria conflict and the geopolitics of the region iemed. In examining the underlying geopolitics of the syrian crisis, the most important actor to dissect is the russian federation.
Ever since the arab spring in 2011, diplomatic efforts have been repeatedly blocked by russia. According to the arguments on the factors in each level of analysis, this article can determine how each. May 24, 2019 geopolitics is the analysis of geographic influences on power relations in international relations deudney 2006. This is the result of mountainous terrain and ethnic cores that contradict the states current borders. Coordinated accountability and lessons learning initiative. These outcomes have been characterized through analysis of the most likely courses of action mlcoas and most dangerous courses of action mdcoas for three primary actors.
Jul 20, 2014 in order to analyze a potential outcome of the syrian civil war, it is pivotal to understand the geopolitical interests of the most important players and their implications. The geopolitics of the syrian war sharmine narwani on. This is a fundamental incipit to explain the historical, political and regional contest in which turkey and syria are included. On april 2, 2018, the syrian government issued a presidential decree regulating land use, one of several similar laws passed since the start of the syrian uprising in march 2011. Repercussions from the syrian conflict will be felt throughout the middle east for decades to come.
May 03, 2018 kevork almassian making sense of the recent developments in the syrian war in may 2018. Borders between two states are constantly in a situation of conflict early warning. Isis, jabhat alnusra, and the syrian regime with its allies. Apr 23, 2018 syrian civil war has been going on for seven years.
It explores how the three main geopolitically related themes contribute to the state of syria as of mid2018. The syrian peoples once peaceful uprising is now lost in the fog of geopolitical and proxy battles. Jan 21, 2014 the geopolitics of syria before the 1916 sykespicot agreement traced out an awkward assortment of nationstates in the middle east, the name syria was used by merchants, politicians and warriors alike to describe a stretch of land enclosed by the taurus mountains to the north, the mediterranean to the west, the sinai peninsula to the south and. The current regime comes from the alawite religious group. By reva bhalla stratfor global intelligenceinternational diplomats will gather jan. The geopolitics of the syrian civil war the levant news. Sectarian animosities and modes of mobilization are filling up the vacuum created in the wake of collapsing state institutions, followed up by the usual massacres and ethnic cleansings committed in the name of otherwise very modern and. Thearab uprisings and the geopolitics of the middle east. Different parts of syria are now being controlled by government forces, the islamic state, the alqaidalinked jabhat alnusra, kurds and various rebel groups.
Lebanon, a country of four million, already hosts up to one million syrian refugees. It is not only the worlds bloodiest conflict, it is also one of the most complicated. Nov 10, 2017 for riyadh, the uprising in syria was a godsend. Burning country is a vivid, firsthand account of syrias revolution and counterrevolution, told explicitly from an activist perspective. Khouri1 abstract this paper argues that the impact of the eightyear war in syria will reverberate across the region for years to come, and explores, in particular. Sep 09, 20 the geopolitics of the syrian war sharmine narwani on grtv. Different parts of syria are now being controlled by government forces, the islamic state, the alqaidalinked jabhat alnusra, kurds and various rebel. Further, some in the global left or antiimperialist camp understand the syrian revolution only through the endgame of geopolitics.
Pdf the syrian crisis, which started in 2011 as an antigovernment protest against president basharalassad, transformed into a civil war in. Pdf this paper presents a systemic analysis of the iransyrialebanon geopolitical. The implications of the syrian war for new regional orders. The peaceful protests of the rebel forces were answered with a brutal response from the government. The geopolitics of cru policy brief syrias reconstruction. This is an excerpt from regional security in the middle east. For most of its modern history, the middle east has been besieged by international conflicts. After the failure of peace talks at lake geneva, and the reelection of president bashar alassad, the question of how to resolve the devastating civil war in syria remains unanswered. Syrian civil war, armed conflict that began in 2011 with an uprising against the regime of syrian president bashar alassad. Geopolitics and american strategy in the cold war 67 6. The syrian state will neither fragment and formalize into sectarian statelets nor reunify into a single nation under a political settlement imposed by a conference in geneva. This book is a necessary corrective to all of the assad is the lesser evil and all opposition to assad are gulf backed jihadists narratives that have so perverted popular discussion on syria, particular. To determine the reasons behind the current state of syria, an analysis was conducted by examining syrian domestic politics, followed by regional geopolitics and last, global geopolitics. The implications of the syrian war for new regional orders in the middle east rami g.
Congressional research service 1 background in march 2011, antigovernment protests broke out in syria, which has been ruled by the asad family for more than four decades. Syrian democratic forces sdf archives geopolitics alert. The conflict drew involvement from a number of international actors and helped precipitate the rise of isil also called isis or islamic state in eastern syria. Forecasting the syrian civil war t he trajectory of the syrian civil war may fundamentally shift within the 90 day timeframe. Since the early nineteenth century, european powers have competed to colonise the middle easts territories in an attempt to control its natural resource and geostrategic location. Over the course of a week, from february 27 through march 5, syrias idlib province transitioned from being ground zero for a war between the syrian army and allied forces, and heavily armed groups opposed to the rule of syrian president bashar assad, into a geopolitical powder keg that threatened to pull the turkish and russian militaries.
Syrian civil war which started in 2011 was the result of these earlier postcold war adjustments. Already five hundred thousand people have been killed, more than another five hundred thousand people have been wounded, and half of the population has been forced to leave the country. The geopolitics of syrias reconstruction clingendael institute. Turkish patrols in a border strip in the northeast of the country, saying it continue reading. Syrias population is composed of sunni arabs, alawites, kurds, druze, and christians, among others. The kingdom had been losing ground to tehran for some time, so if the sunni majority in syria could topple the government of bashar assad which was aligned with iran then it would have broken the otherwise uninterrupted arc of influence tehran had from iran to the mediterranean sea. The syrian conflict fits into the concept of a civil war as expounded by collier et al. Damascus tsn the move was also a violation of the territorial integrity of syria, said the syrian foreign ministry statement, referring to attempts by the u.
The paper then surveys how the geopolitical struggle in syria has. The geopolitics of the syrian civil war part 22 fair. The incredibly complex syrian conflict introduction since breaking out in 2011, the syrian conflict has claimed over 500,000 lives, driven 5 million refugees out of the country and displaced millions more internally. Pdf a geopolitical analysis of the activation of the shiite. Syrian civil war has been going on for seven years. Geopolitics from the cold war to the twentyfirst century 5. Meanwhile, of deepening concern for almost all of syrias immediate neighbours, the flow of refugees continues, seemingly without end. Pdf the syria conflict and the geopolitics of the region jane. The implications of the syrian war for new regional orders in. The syrian army is not imposing a siege, it is trying to break it. The geopolitics of the syrian war 03 may 2018 youtube. This operation aimed to dislodge, at a distance of 3035 kilometres from the border, the usbacked. The syrian civil war and debacle essay the syrian civil war began in 2011 and has continued to tear the country apart ever since.
Iasc interagency humanitarian evaluations steering group as part of the syria. The geopolitics of the syrian civil war part 12 fair. At the time of this writing, the syrian civil war has already exceeded 5 years and will most likely reach the 7year average duration of civil wars. Kevork almassian making sense of the recent developments in the syrian war in may 2018.
The uprising, initially demanding democratic reforms, evolved from initially minor protests, beginning as early as january 2011 and transformed. Arab uprisings, geopolitics, middle east, sectarianism the popular uprisings that swept across the arab world like a breath of fresh air in december 2010 seemed to restore to the arab state system its erstwhile permeabil. The alawis of syria is well informed and well researched, and comes at a time when the issue is becoming ever more timely. Sep 23, 20 the syrian peoples once peaceful uprising is now lost in the fog of geopolitical and proxy battles. Aug 04, 2015 the levant news by reva bhalla for stratfor editors note. Syrias main geographic challenge is uniting its diverse ethnic groups under one domestic power. Khouri1 abstract this paper argues that the impact of the eightyear war in syria will reverberate across the region for years to come, and explores, in particular, four noteworthy legacies. Aug 04, 2015 the syrian state will neither fragment and formalize into sectarian statelets nor reunify into a single nation under a political settlement imposed by a conference in geneva. Reports that young alawis have been dodging the military service and fatal incidents among the regimes supporters in bashar alassads heartlands have raised questions about the nature of alawis relationship to the. The protests spread, violence escalated primarily but not exclusively by syrian government forces, and numerous political and armed opposition groups emerged. Jan 21, 2014 by reva bhalla international diplomats will gather jan. Last friday a 155 mm artillery shell landed 300 metres from a us command post near the syrian bordering city of ayn alarab known by the syrian kurds as kobane during an ongoing operation carried out by turkey a nato and a us ally. It started out as a popular uprising against the regime of syrias president bashar alassad.
Geography, resources and the geopolitics of middle east conflicts. The conference, however, will be far removed from the reality on the syrian battleground. The levant news by reva bhalla for stratfor editors note. With the war in syria showing no signs of abating, we republish our jan. Just as soon as saudi arabia declared that the only way to resolve syrian crisis, which it authored with the help of israel and us, is the removal of assad by force if necessary, the russian federation give its thumbs up to putins request for their armed forces to be sent to syria. The civil uprising phase of the syrian civil war, or as it was sometimes called by the media, the syrian revolution, was an early stage of protests with subsequent violent reaction by the syrian arab republic lasting from march to 28 july 2011. The geopolitics of the syrian war sharmine narwani on grtv. The article adopts a corpusbased, thematic analysis approach and uses primary and predominantly secondary data to examine syrian domestic politics, as well as regional and global geopolitics. Russia escalated its military assistance on behalf of the syrian regime in early september 2015, deploying armored vehicles and hundreds of personnel to the syrian coast in. Civil uprising phase of the syrian civil war wikipedia. The term sectarianism in islam tends to imply that the present division between sunnis and shiites is a result of an ancient hatred that has supposedly existed since the seventh century, but the reality is more complex. The geopolitics of the syrian civil war business forum. The syrian government is accused of depriving these people of access to medical care and basic necessities, when it is one or another of these armed groups, over the years, that has caused the breakdown of efforts to set up humanitarian corridors. The strength of a nation and its chances of survival are dependent to a great extent on geographic factors.
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