Month: April 2015

Throughout the semester I have been researching the Syrian Government, the Islamic State within Syria, and both of their connection or allies in the battle for Syria but towards the end of the semester I focused more on the Syrian Government. For a little background information, the Syrian Civil War began on March 15, 2011 when protests in Damascus and the southern city of Deraa demand the release of political prisoners. During the protests, security forces shoot a number of people dead in Deraa, which triggered days of violent unrest that steadily spread throughout the nation. Since then the violence has escalated which has really made or broke political ties with Syria. As many are aware, Russia has been one of the closest allies to Assad and his regime. In this blog entry titled “The Syrian Government and its Allies, Both Old & New” it shows how Assad would like for Russia to expand their influence throughout the Middle East in order to counter the expansion of the United States and its allies. It also shows how due to outside threats such as radical rebels, other Middle Eastern countries are beginning to reconnect with Syria such as Tunisia.

While other Middle Eastern countries are beginning to reconnect with Syria, other Western countries are not so sure. In a blog entry titled “Rising Tensions between France & Syria,” it states how France and Britain was considering reestablishing ties with Assad for the same reason as Tunisia, to counter a greater threat such as ISIS. Alas, both countries decided against it as Britain states reestablishing ties “would likely end all hope of a political transition and push moderates into the arms of radical Islamist groups.” The Syrian government lost many political ties at the beginning of the Civil War, and even before, and while it has begun to regain some, and they still have Russia at their side, it doesn’t necessarily mean they will regain control of Syria anytime soon, at least not all of Syria.

As far as the perspectives of globalization go, Russia is very much a political realist and Tunisia is also, but not as much as Russia. Russia has always been in favor of a strong central government and they believe that Assad is the only person that can control Syria. As for Tunisia, by reconnecting with Assad, it means they believe more in him than any other group attempting to take control in Syria. For the Western Nations, such as France and Britain, they are the complete opposites as they are seen more as political idealist. A political idealist believes that while war can be necessary, they should do everything in their power in order to try to reduce its impact, if not avoid it entirely. They also believe in international ties in order to avoid war and while a strong government is good, there need to be more things within the government to balance it out.

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When the Syrian Civil War began four years ago the Syrian government lost many of its political contacts all over the world but there was one ally who decided to stick by them; Russia. Russia has been a close ally to the Syrian government for many years now and because of this, Syria wants them to expand their influence around the Middle East. In an article by AlMonitor, “Syria Keen on Russian Expansion in Middle East” by Ziad Haidar (translated by Joelle El-Khoury) it states how the Syrian Government wants Moscow to expand their influence within the Middle East as the United States (U.S.) and its allies begin to expand as well. This also comes as fighting increases in Yemen and throughout the Middle East.

While Russia attempt to expand their influence throughout the Middle East, Tunisia also plans to renew their ties with the Syrian government. In an article posted by Reuters, “Tunisia Says Plans to Renew Ties with Syria to Help Track Fighters” reported by Tarek Amara, writen by Patrick Markey and edited by Raissa Kasolowsky in states that Tunisia is considering renewing ties with Syria due to the increasing threat of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) around the Middle East. Tunisia wishes to renew its ties so that it can keep up with the insurgent fighters within Syria that threaten the rest of the Middle East but Tunisia says that these ties will not be very complex and may or may not include embassies in Syria.

Violence within the Middle East continues to increase especially with the continuing rise of the Islamic State. This violence is seen throughout the whole world and it could potentially affect other players not in or near the Middle East. Russia has always been an important stakeholder in the affairs of the Middle East due to its close ties to Syria but if they decide to expand their influence furthermore then it could cause more problems than fix them due to the many stakeholders that are in this conflict. Many argue that it could even lead to another Cold War especially if Syria begins to renew its ties within the Middle East and possibly even the world.

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In an article by BBC titled “Syria Crisis: Russia and China Step Up Warning Over Strike” it details how Russia and China feel about the U.S. lead strike against Syria in 2013 after there were reports of the Syrian government using chemical weapons. The U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry defined this attack as  defying  “any code of morality” and those responsibly should be held accountable. As the U.S. and its allies geared up for an attack, China and Russia, long standing allies of the Syrian government, warned them of the potential outbreak of violence it could cause as well as unrest among the Middle East.

In related news, Reuters recently published an article, “Syria Gets Russian Arms Under Deals Signed Since Conflict Began: Assad” which was reported by Gabriela Baczynska and Darya Korsunskaya, edited by Timothy Heritage. In this article, President of Syria, Assad, claims that Syria and Russia had arms deal long before the civil war began and they were simply continuing this deal when the conflict started. Moscow confirms this stating that it is not supporting Syria anymore than it was before.

The first article shows how Russia and China have made little changes in their stance within the Syrian conflict. They still align themselves with the Syrian government and against most Western powers. The second article shows that Russia is the country with the most at stake with the Syrian conflict which gives them a little more to worry about when peace talks come to be scheduled. In my opinion, Russia is a political realists in the sense that they know what is at stake and they know their limit.

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The conflict in Syria continues to expand and it has now caused the Jordan government to close the main Jordan-Syria border crossing. According to a New York Times article, “Main Syria-Jordan Crossing Under Insurgent Assault” written by Rana F. Sweis, the closing came soon after insurgents attacked the border crossing. It is unclear as to what insurgent group, out of the many, actually began the attack but the groups who came forward to claim this victory are known as the Free Syrian Army, and a group commanded by Nusra, a terrorist organization according to the United States. It is said that these two groups are now taking command of different parts of the complex.

In another article by Reuters, “Syrian Aircraft Bomb Area Near Captured Jordan Crossing” reported by Sylvia Westall and edited by Tom Heneghan, the Syrian government reportedly dropped bombs near the border crossing just hours after the insurgent groups took over the complex. This was an effort to remove the insurgent groups who took over this crossing and further damaged the relationship between Syria and Jordan. The object of the crossing was not merely to damage these relations but also to weaken the regime’s hold in the south and to increase the areas under the control of the insurgents. 

These recent attacks by the insurgents are showing that they are relentless in their pursuit to gain more control within Syria and within the Middle East. They also want to sever the relationship between other countries to further isolate them. In terms of globalizing perspectives, this would fall under the terms of radicals since they are using extreme violence to make their end goal but then again they could come from a political realist point of view since they are attempting to brake political ties. It is still difficult to see who has the lead in the fight for Syria.