The Syrian Conflict and Cause-Effect
Introduction
Being centrally located in the Middle East, whenever Syria gets mentioned, the thoughts that ring in someone’s mind are strife, political instability, chaos, and turmoil. It is placed in the middle of a region that is currently experiencing consistent international and civil wars. Over the years, the Middle East has witnessed governments’ massive failure, bloody disagreements among citizens, and a massive uprise of terrorists and militia strongholds (Baltes, 2016). In Syria, these problems, which were seen to pose minute threats to national unity before, have massively grown to be a significant problem to every citizen. The need to alleviate the situation has attracted outside forces such as the United States, who are determined to reinstate peace and strengthen national cohesion.
Background to the Syrian Problem
The peace intervention treaties in Syria and other Middle East countries alike have come with a hefty price. Despite their intervention strategies, it is clear that they are not close to leaving because the problem continues to magnify every other day. By this, these countries are jeopardizing their lives as well as those of their citizens. As others suggest that other countries such as the United States should not have invaded Iraq as retaliation to the bombing of the World Trade Centre, it is still debatable whether this triggered international players to meddle in the region. However, the lack of a basic understanding of countries’ political history in the region has gotten them in the wrong end of the table (Baltes, 2016). The real cause for the escalation of wars in Syria is because it has become hard for countries like the United States to democratize a country whose beliefs are much different from western culture. Therefore countries have been forced first to analyze where the government is presently placed and how it got there.
Causes of Wars in Syria
It should be noted that, as the wars are still going on, it is currently hard to determine to establish the root cause of the problem. The leading causes are therefore based on different points of view, which can vary from time to time. When the war is over, the world will have time to reflect, and the causes will be more transparent. Below are some of the leading factors that led to political instability in Russia.
Structure of Government
As it is clearly known that Assad, the son of former Syria’s president, was not elected to be the president, his opponents argued that he had no jurisdictions to sit in the position of such great power (Baltes, 2016). Assad strongly disagreed with their ideas because he believed he had a right to rule through inheritance. He dedicated a larger part of his life to defending his belief. The people of Syrians also demanded the end of the Baath’s party because they felt that their views were not heard in their government. The vast discrepancy in the people’s opinions created a divide that escalated to civil wars in the country.
Economic Problems
The Syrian economy was far much better before the reign of Assad. The high unemployment rate and the inability of many Syrians to attend to their families’ basic needs aroused people’s animosity towards the ruling government. It is because people felt that the government was responsible for the economic woes. It still not clear why the Assad’s government did not work to ameliorate the financial situation of Syria, but it played a larger part in fuelling the civil wars
The Spring of the Arab Movement
The Arab Spring Movement affected many countries across the Middle East. It triggered both positive and negative impacts on countries throughout the region. The Syrian people believed that joining the movement would help improve their lives, and therefore they followed in the footsteps of the neighboring Arab countries. The movement projected Syria towards a part of technological advancement and provided contact to the outside world. These reforms motivated the Syrian people to seek more reforms through a demonstration which eventually resulted in chaos and turmoil.
The Consequences of Syrian Civil wars
The conflicts in Syria have resulted in multidimensional problems. It is reported to have destroyed a large portion of housing and medical facilities, which eventually led to a massive economic crisis. The aftermath of the civil wars resulted in the deaths of about half a million people. Nearly half of the population were displaced from their maternal homes resulting in the largest number of refugees ever experience since the Second World War. Both the social and economic fabric of the country got severely destroyed. Also, about half a million people were believed to have lost their jobs resulting in the highest unemployment rate that the government has ever witnessed (Baltes, 2016). Through the projection of how Syria would have thrived with the absence of civil wars, it is estimated that it suffered a loss of about 300 million Us Dollars, an equivalent of four times the country’s GDP in 2010.
Reference(s)
Baltes, C. M. (2016). Causes and Consequences of the Syrian Civil War.