The French’s mandate over Syria after World Ware One had an irrevocable impact on the nations’s communal factions. The mandate lasted from 1920-1946 and they begun their rule with intentionally made sectarian divisions. They were made in order to prevent Arab nationalism and stifle national independence movements. The divisions were made my religious and national minority. Granting the minorities independent status locations where they make up the majority. For example, there was a large population of Alawites in the mountain range behind Latakia, the French declared them a separate state. The Druze were granted the right and ability to govern themselves in the city of Jabal, just south of Damascus. The one religious group that did not enjoy the effects of the French mandate were the Sunni Muslims. In Syrian history, the Sunnis were viewed as the elitist, being dominant in politics, officer corps, gendarme and the police force. With the imposed separation of communal factions, the Sunnis had less power and influence. The divide-and-rule strategy the French imposed eroded the relationships among Syria’s religious and ethnic groups, ties that would have been valuable later in Syrian politics. Further analyzing the major religious factions of Syria thorough depicts development of their bitter relationships (Fildis).
Those who observe the Druze religion are part of one of the smaller religious factions, yet still have a notable presence in the Syrian culture. The Druze create 6% of the Syrian population; their small number made it easy to be overlooked or taken advantage of by those in power in Syria (Carpenter). As previously stated, the French granted the Druze an independent state in Jabal in 1922. Later that year, a Sy...
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Boxx, S. Edward. "Observations On The Air War In Syria." Air & Space Power Journal 27.2 (2013): 147-168. Academic Search Premier. Web. 26 Feb. 2014
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The French had control of Syria and Lebanon. France had a direct rule, meaning that they sent officials and their army to govern their mandates. The Druze revolt caused the French to separate Lebanon into a country of their own. They appointed the government as people of different religious groups, Christian, Shi’a Muslims, and Sunni Muslims. During World War Two (WWII), Syria and Lebanon tried to gain independence. In 1946 Syria and Lebanon were free. During the time of the French Mandates they made many improvements towards the roads, education, agriculture, and health; which laid the groundwork for modern Syria and
There is always that one person that stirs the pot in a situation that could have been solved rather quickly without them interfering. This is exactly what happened in Syria. The Syrian Civil War began when a peaceful protest when a group of teenagers who were writing anti-government graffiti on a wall. Syrian people called on their president who instead of making democratic reforms, acted in extreme violence against unarmed civilians. More than a quarter of a million people in Syria have been killed and over 10 million have been forced out of their homes. The Assad regime continues to suppress their citizens and they have begun using chemical bombs to kill thousands of Syrians and many even
The Middle East has since time immemorial been on the global scope because of its explosive disposition. The Arab Israeli conflict has not been an exception as it has stood out to be one of the major endless conflicts not only in the region but also in the world. Its impact continues to be felt all over the world while a satisfying solution still remains intangible. A lot has also been said and written on the conflict, both factual and fallacious with some allegations being obviously evocative. All these allegations offer an array of disparate views on the conflict. This essay presents an overview of some of the major literature on the controversial conflict by offering precise and clear insights into the cause, nature, evolution and future of the Israel Arab conflict.
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Israeli-Druze’s feel integrated into Israeli society, while simultaneously also feel alienated due to “lack of full equity, and linguistic-cultural differentiation” (Nisan). Regardless, the Maghar Druze community living in Israel identify as Israeli over Palestinian and even over an Arab nationality. The separation of identity from Arab to Israeli is due to long and violent religious conflicts between the Druze and Muslims in Palestine (Nisan). These hate crimes have created an obvious transition for Maghar Druze to align with Israel over neighboring Arab states. Most importantly the recruitment into Israeli military has provided the Maghar community the sense of protection against a common enemy which has strengthened the Druze – Israeli identity. Overall, the state of Israel has provided the Maghar Druze the sense of belonging through citizenship and military service; thus giving them the desire for a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to continue their integration into Israeli society.
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Jouejati, Murhaf. “Syrian Motives for Its WMD Programs and What to Do about Them.” Middle
BACKGROUND: In March of 2011, the unrest in Syria was just beginning, with protests g...
Leenders, Reinoud. "Regional Conflict Formations': Is the Middle East Next? ." Third World Quarterly 28.5 (2007): 959-982. JSTOR. Web. 5 June 2011.
An attack on the Syrian state would fall within the boundaries of the international concept of the responsibility to protect. The crisis in Syria has escalated by protests in March 2011 calling for the release of all political prisoners. National security forces responded to widespread peaceful demonstrations with the use of brutal violence. The Syrian President Bashar al-Assad refused to stop attacks and allow for implementation of the reforms requested by the demonstrators. By July 2011, firsthand accounts emerged from witnesses, victims, and the media that government forces had subjected innocent civilians to detention, torture, and the use of heavy weaponry. The Syrian people were also subjected to the Shabiha, a largely armed state sponsored militia fighting with security forces. Al-Assad continually denied responsibility to these crimes and placed blame on the armed groups and terrorists for these actions.
- - -, dir. “Air Force Special Operations Command.” The Official Web Site of the United Stated Air Force. U.S. Air Force, 20 Sept. 2011. Web. 9 Feb. 2012. .
Based on the constructivist view, the Civil War in Syria is initiated by the identity conflict between two groups which are the Assad’s regime and the rebel. Assad’s regime originates from minority Alawite, who made up 12 percent of the Syria population and also dominates most of the position in Syria government (citation). However, this identity conflict is not on religion based as the rebel’s side consists variation of group such as Sunni sect, Free Syrian Army (FSA) and other citizens. Besides, the Assad’s regimes as well consist of other society despite of the Alwite. Based on this condition, it is clearly portray that, even though a group is made up of multiple identities, they still can pursue t...
Lawson, Fred H. "Syria." Politics & society in the contemporary Middle East. Boulder, Colo.: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2010. 411 - 434. Print.
...nd Politics." Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa. Ed. Philip Mattar. 2nd ed. Vol. 2. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2004. 890-895. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 24 Jan. 2012.