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The work is entitled “Is there a Civil war in Syria or a civil war among superpowers?” The author seeks to describe how Syria’s case bears many similarities to those of the Arab Spring. The author of shows that the civil war is the property of superpowers, and the ways in which they are competitive regarding their political goals. The main point of the essay is to seek to understand Syria’s war and the positions of the different nations who have become involved in this conflict. In order to pursue these points, it is necessary to answer the following fundamental questions:

Why have superpowers involved themselves in Syria? What are their aspirations in seeking to resolve what is a worldwide issue, in that it involves there the two opposing superpower nations (Russia and USA) – a case of West versus East in Syria? Have they already prepared the ground for a final resolution which will prove acceptable for every nation with an investment in the conflict in Syria?

The current dictator of Syria (and one of the last remaining in the Middle East), President Bashar al-Assad, wants to hold on to  power. What began in 2011 as a peaceful protest grew into an armed civil conflict between citizens of Syria and the armed forces of the country.

  1. During this time, Egypt went through a similar “conflict” to establish the first democracy in government across the whole nation.
  2. Following this example, Syria’s citizens seek to achieve their own democratic nation for the first time. However, we have seen in nations such as Libya and Egypt the fate of toppled dictators and presidents,  and that is why current President Bashar al-Assad is keen to cling to power at any cost. In doing so, he has many problems and challenges to face. Notably, there is the terrorist group known as DAESH (or Islamic State) which has already seized control of huge swathes of land within the east of Syria, and there is the ongoing civil war among the citizens of Syria. ,,Analysts believe that undermining Western ambitions for regime change in Syria by immediately coming to a negotiated agreement with Syria’s so-called “opposition” should take priority.
  3. In this climate, it is clear that any nation (such as the aforementioned superpower nations) involving themselves in Syria and seeking to solve its problems also wants to benefit from the situation. The principle difficulty is that the competing superpowers taking part in the Syrian conflict seek to change Syria’s regime into a democratic regime, or put its people in control of Syria’s national destiny – aspirations that are fraught with challenges. The next problem is the DAESH terrorist group (Islamic State) which has perpetrated grave terrorist atrocities across the world (see Appendix A). It has already been confirmed  that Russia will help the  USA to defeat Islamic State and set up a new stable government without the current president Bashar al-Assad. This will be an interesting process to observe, as the Russian Federation is set to establish its own people within any new Syrian government. We are seeing that, even among such old adversaries as Russia and the USA, a different standpoint on global affairs is emerging in the current climate; they have to find one solution to meet their own interests (see Appendix B) – indeed, they have already found it.

Bibliography

  1. Tony Cartalucci and Nile Bowie, War on Syria: Gateway to WWIII (Bangkok, 2012), 246.
  2. ,,Syrian Problem”, http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/16979186 (downloaded 14. 12. 2015)
  3. ,,Syria: The story of the conflict” http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-26116868 (downloaded 12. 12. 2015)
  4. ,,Syria’s Protesters, Long Mostly Peaceful, Starting to Resort to Violence” http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/17/world/middleeast/at-least-six-protesters-killed-in-syria.html?_r=0 (downloaded 12. 12. 2015)

Appendix

Appendix A

,,Map of Syria” http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/560/cpsprodpb/10729/production/_86896376_syria_control_map_624_v6.png, downloaded (11. 12. 2015)

Appendix B

BBC, World Energy Outlook, IEA, Petroleum Economists, Institute for the Study of War, RBC Capital Markets, http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/561a65379dd7cc19008c0e22-960/untitled.png (downloaded 12. 12. 2015)