The Syrian Conflict In Syria Research

The vast majority of the population comprises 74% of Muslims (Fisher). Various Christian denominations make up 10%, and the remaining 16% is made up of other Muslims, such as Alawis, Ismailis, Shi’as, and Druze (Fisher). The current government in power since 1970 is the Assad regime, which follows the Alawite religion. The conflict in Syria is a result of numerous political and religious disputes between the national government and rebel forces. Two main parties are involved in the Syrian conflict: the National government and the Free Syrian Army. The Classification stage of Genocide is exemplified here with the ‘Us versus Them’ mentality. The current president, Bashar al-Assad, has been in office since 2000. He succeeded his father, Hafez al-Assad, who led Syria beginning in 1970 until his death in 2000. When Bashar al-Assad took power, he promised reforms and even allowed for criticism. This time of reform is known as the Damascus Spring, but he quickly resorted to his father’s dictatorship ways (Cornish). The al-Assad family belongs to the minority group of Alawites, which is similar to “an untouchable becoming maharajah in India or a Jew becoming tsar in Russia” (Belisle). Hafez al-Assad kept his control of Syria for so long by influencing the divisions in Syrian society to keep anyone else from gaining enough power to challenge his rule (Fisher). The other party involved is the Free Syrian Army. The FSA, led by Col Riad al-Asaad, was formed in August 2011 and is made up of defected Syrian army members with the goal to take down the al-Assad regime (Fisher). The classification of “Us versus Them” is a root of religious, ethnic, and political conflicts. Among various theories pertaining to the conflicts in Syria, the “Us versus Them” mentality is a significant factor. The government justifies their egregious actions by saying that they were simply trying to maintain order and control of the country. They say that as the government, they had the right to act as they deemed necessary. On the other hand, the Free Syrian Army argues that because of the way citizens are treated, they had justified reasons to rebel and fight back. The conflicts occurring in the ever-problematic Middle East have many solutions, none of which are easily attainable or easy to execute. The dictator-like regime of the Assad family has been going on for over 40 years and is likely on the decline. The promised economic and social reforms of Bashar al-Assad have largely been a contributing factor to unrest in Syria. Also, the majority of Syrian citizens, who are Sunni Arabs, are not represented and treated fairly by the government, which is a contributing factor to the Civil War.