Before the ongoing Syrian uprising that has surprised the whole world due to the government’s brutality and interests from various world powers, the country’s administrative system was suppressive and indifferent to the sufferings of the majority. The country declared its independence in 1946 and held elections, but the overthrow of the government in 1949 brought about changes in the political and economic arena.
In subsequent years, the country witnessed several coups while at one time the military was compelled to hand over power to the civilian regime in 1954. In the late 1950s, the parliamentary system was replaced by the highly centralized administrative system following the country’s union with Egypt.
In early 2000, the current president, together with his wife, led a revolution in Damascus with aim improving the living standards of the local poor. The president is from the minority group referred to as Alawite, which practices Shia Islam. Assad’s regime has always been in conflicts with the majority of Sunnis, which is the largest in the country.
In late 2010, those against the government protested over resource distribution, claiming that the government was doing nothing to uplift the standards of the poor. The uprisings had been witnessed elsewhere, including Tunisia and Egypt. The protesters were concerned with the widespread misappropriation of public funds, the abuse of human rights, and lack of support from the government.
Assad responded by instructing the military to quell violence using force, irrespective of whether children and women were involved. This shows that the Syrian crisis and the ongoing civil war trace their origin in history and the injustices that the government has always meted out to the innocent locals.
The ongoing civil war demonstrates that the Syrian case is not any similar with other uprisings in North Africa and other parts of the Middle East because conspiracy theory could be used to explain it.
A number of actors in the international system, such as the supranational organizations, including the United Nations and NATO, the powerful states, including the United States, China, and Russia, and influential individuals an all concerned with the ongoing crisis.
This makes it difficult for a lasting solution to be found because actors rarely agree on what to do, as each is interested in realizing national or personal interests. Historians and international political analysts have conducted adequate research to establish some of the major issues facing the state.
Their reports show that the country went through several religious and cultural conflicts, with the majority demanding representation in policy formulation. Islam is part of the problem in the Syrian society as per the works of various historians because its followers are reluctant to appreciate the reality that it cannot be applied in resolving the major issues.
As already mentioned, the majority of individuals in society follow the religious teachings of Sunnite, whereas the minority fall into various categories, including Alawites and Ismaili. The Sunnis and the Shiites have been in constant conflicts ever since the ratification of Islam in the region, with Shiites refuting the claims that Mohammed is the founder of Islam.
This has generated severe conflicts, leading to tribal and religious wars in the region, including Syria. Shiites are considered enemies in the country because they oppose the fundamental teachings of Islam. In Syria, Shiites occupy the Mountainous areas. They are always believed to be uneducated, as well as uncivilized.
The government discriminated against the minorities, including the Shiites and when Assad came into power, he has been trying to reward his own people, knowing very well that they have suffered a lot throughout history.
Assad has been reluctant to listen to the majority Sunnis and when it comes to making government appointments, he does not consult any group, apart from his minority community. This has consistently fuelled speculations that his aim is to revenge against the injustices that the minority Shiites went through in the hands of the previous regimes.
The majority of Sunnis are of the view that the government must give in to their demands and allow Islamic laws to be applied in governing the country. This is something that Assad is not ready to do and he has stated categorically that he will never allow Islam to be the main religion in the country because it will subjugate and discriminate against his people.
Due to globalization and the emergence of improved communication systems, the majority in the country cannot sit back and watch the government unleash terror to them, but instead, people have formed coalitions with foreigners and other like-minded leaders across the world to bring sanity in the country.
The entire Middle East region, including Syria, has been going through serious challenges that are related to the violation of universal human rights and infringement of the personal reasons, such as the right to life, right to own property, and the freedom of expression and speech.
Dictators have been able to rule with an iron fist because individuals in society were socialized to obey the law and observe the teachings of Islamic religion, which state that the political leader is also a religious leader hence maximum respect must be accorded to them.
The society is changing and people are appreciating the fact that the state should be separated from religion if political freedoms and secularity are to be achieved. Additionally, the populace in Syria came to the realization that secularism is closely related to the process of democratization and people are quick to fault the government on any issue.
The social media has given people the freedom to express themselves freely without the fear of retribution and punishment from the authorities. In Syria and other places in the Middle East and North Africa, the social media is attributed to the political developments going on.
The unrelenting divisions and conflicts between the Shia Muslims and the Sunnis have resulted in frustrations among groups, leading to extremism, which is directly related to terrorism in the region. In fact, terrorism is considered a major global issue, as each state is fighting hard to establish the best counterterrorism policies to match the influence of the sadists from the region.
Locally, the majority of Sunnis are known to have formed groups, such as Mujahidin. The conflict has attracted the attention of various groups, with several communities across the region sending their troops to help in the ousting of Assad, as this would facilitate the instalment of Sharia law in the country. These opposition fighters include those from Europe, Kuwait, Palestine, and Chechnya.
It is feared that the experienced gained in Syria would be a threat to the security of the region, as some would extend their mandate even after the attack, mainly to practice terrorism against the unfriendly regimes and innocent citizens. The opposition forces include one of the vulnerable groups, often referred to as Al-Nusra, which is a specific Jihadist group that will do everything to achieve its interests.
The Syrian government claims that terrorist organizations are after overthrowing the government of the people in order to form a puppet government that would be used to shield the interests of the Jihadists in the region. The Syrian government termed the Al-Nusra group as the terrorist organization that had been hired by foreign forces to interfere with the running of the government.
Similarly, the US government had initially declared the group a terrorist organization working with the most feared Al-Qaeda group. It is evident that religious divisions and cultural differences are likely to play a role in the emergence of terrorist groups that will fight the legally installed governments even after the uprising, as their main aim would be to frustrate the west, but not to help the local poor.
Many people across the world are wondering why the government of Syria does not want to concede defeat and quit power since its continued stay is causing many deaths, instabilities in the region, loss of property, fall of the economy, and tension in the global arena. However, Assad does not represent his interests because the Syrian conflict is just a catalyst to the already polarized global politics.
The East, led by Russia and China, are accusing the West of meddling with the affairs of the Syrian people while the west, led by the United States and Britain, accuse Russia and China of supporting terrorists who would consider nothing in using weapons of mass destruction. This demonstrates clearly that the Syrian crisis is beyond the borders, as it attracts foreigners in different capacities.
If Assad quits power, the East, including China and Russia, would have lost the supremacy battle in the international system.
Scholars of international relations suggest that the global system is characterized by tensions, wars, and zero-sum games whereby actors are simply guided by selfish interests, irrespective of whether the population is suffering. This means that the solution to the Syrian crisis lies with the leadership of the country since no foreign power will be willing to compromise its position to end the civil war.
Finally, the ongoing crisis in Syria could be interpreted using the conspiracy theory because the war does not aim at benefiting the population in any way. It is harming the economy and the social lives of the majority, as people are rendered jobless each day, deaths are reported on daily basis, and women are exposed to the worst injustices related to innocent beating and raping.
The people of Syria are suffering to fulfill the interests of foreign powers, something showing clearly that the civil war is a conspiracy of the mighty in the international against the poor population that is helpless to the extent that it cannot provided for itself the basic needs, including security.
Iran and Russia are confirmed allies of the president currently in power while the United States and Britain are believed to be in support of the opposing forces. Without the conspiracy of the powerful states, the Syrian crisis could be long gone, just as the Libyan, Tunisian, and Egyptian uprisings.