Apply Michael E.

Browns Underlying causes of internal conflict to Syria before the outbreak

of the Civil War. Write a few sentences about how the factor applies/or not and provide the
source.

Structural Factors (Leehoo, Leandra, Alexander)

Ethnic geography: The ethnic geography of Syria can be used to highlight the power
(im)balance of Assad throughout the country (e.g hes more powerful in regions with larger
Alawite populations and weaker in Kurdish regions). It can also be a factor for the conflict
since an ethnic minority is ruling over a majority and this can also feed into the weakness of
the state.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2013/08/27/the-one-map-that-showswhy-syria-is-so-complicated/
http://gulf2000.columbia.edu/images/maps/Syria_Ethnic_Detailed_lg.png

Weak state: The internal situation in Syria worsened and weakened the state following from
the wave of refugees from Iraq- 210, 000 refugees making Syria the country, hosting the
most Iraqi refugees, influencing the economy of the country, because they were attending
schools and were provided with medical care but werent allowed to work.

Economic/Social Factors (Mathilde, Donia)

Economic/social factors
- Economically it was growing in a steady pace.
- Tourism was being enhanced, industries were expanding and flourishing + self dependent
country.
- Growth was not equal in all parts of Syria + was concentrated in the large cities (most rural
areas were still undeveloped).
- The sudden economic development after three decades of closed socialist economy caused a
shock to the society + an increasing gap between the rich and the poor, this Social
injustice along with the corruption and the existence of elite economic group
was used and exploited by regional powers to trigger the civil war.

- The middle class was the largest : life was not easy but still it works. Universities, industry,
agriculture at least were always the best in all of the area.
- but it wasnt obvious, it was a peaceful country to live, even if of course there was the
horrors of the Assad regime
- cheap currency
- high unemployment (jobs more for alawites because of cronyism)
poverty (huge gap between rich & poor + high class for the government)
Economy was diverse : most important sectors included agriculture (22%),
industry and excavation (25%), retail (23%), and tourism (12%), according to 2009
figures quoted by the Syrian Central Bank.
most of the revenues were hold only by the government while the others still
have to pay taxes
economically, Syria was better off than its neighbors
modernization : way for people to communicate so useful to prepare the
revolution + government could have access to what people were saying when they
were communicating so this lack of freedom could also have led to the revolution +
they saw other revolutions through Facebook, TV which gave them informations
about what happened around them
Quota + Donia + wikipedia + Orwa + worldbank.org + BBC + english.alarabiya.net +
syrian reasearch center
Political Factors (Juul, Victoria)
Discriminatory political institutions:
In the past four decades, Syrias government ruled from an oppression authoritarianism. In
the highest positions of power you would most likely find Alawis. Alawi is a minority, with
around 13% of Syria to represent. For this reason, most of the population which are most
commonly Sunni Arabs, feel underrepresented in the highest ranks. This rage and injustice
has been happening for almost 50 years, but it wasn't until 2011 that the discrimination was
so strong it led to an uprising.
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/12/understanding-syria-from-pre-civilwar-to-post-assad/281989/

Exclusionary national ideologies: Pre civil war Syria was heavily influenced by exclusionary
national ideologies, in the shape of hate and discrimination towards Kurds. For example,
Kurds were denied the right to practice their culture and they werent recognized as a
national minority of Syria in the 1973 constitution. This separation can still be seen to this
day, as e.g. the kurds are fighting with their own army in the civil war.
http://www.yasa-online.org/reports/The%20Kurds%20of%20Syria%20-%20An%20existence
%20denied.pdf
Inter-group politics:

The Syria that Hafez al-Asad grew up in which was an unstable coup-prone state in which
no government lasted very long; ensuring that it became coup-proof bwas central to his
plans for state consideration. The mountain dwelling Alawi community from which he
descended were socially and economically backward when compared to Syrias urban Sunni
and Christian communities, and the Alawis gains made under French rule were not
consolidated until after he became the country's first non-Sunni president.
https://books.google.nl/books?
id=koeMCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA12&lpg=PA12&dq=until+1970+syria+was+ruled+by+sunni+arab
s&source=bl&ots=RWIEmnVqEU&sig=7dFxIntgtWo_PGUx7smubw3hjs&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiO8Ieg1tPLAhVDcD4KHXXiCYQ
Q6AEIMTAG#v=onepage&q=until%201970%20syria%20was%20ruled%20by%20sunni
%20arabs&f=false

Elite politics: First of all, Syria is governed through dictatorship and has been so for 50 years.
This means that it is inevitable that the politics of Syria are gonna be controlled by an elite,
because the rest of the country doesnt have a say in what is gonna happen in the country.
But also, it is important to note that the leader of this Elite, Assad, is a part of a minority, the
alawites. This makes the alawites much more powerful than other minorities, seeing as their
interests are weighed upon more heavily by the lawmakers of Syria. This can and is a cause
of conflicts between minorities, because some minorities feel unjustly treated and under
represented compared to the Alawites.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/syrias-alawites-the-people-behind-assad-1435166941

Cultural/Perceptual Factors (Elena, Nadja)

Patterns of cultural discrimination (Nadja):
No freedom of religion - The Constitution provides for freedom of religion. However,
the Government restricts this right. While there is no official state religion, the Constitution
requires that the president be Muslim and stipulates that Islamic jurisprudence, an expansion
of Sharia Islamic law is a principal source of legislation
Discrimination of minorities: Syria is home to 1.7 million Kurds who constitute 10%
of the population, forming the largest non-Arab ethnic minority in the country. They suffer
various kinds of discrimination, such as being denied citizenship until April 2011. Authorities
suppress expressions of Kurdish identity, and prohibit the teaching of Kurdish in schools.
Womens rights: Syria's constitution guarantees gender equality, and many women are
active in public life, but personal status laws as well as the penal code contain provisions that
discriminate against women and girls.
Sources used: https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2010/country-chapters/syria
http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/193119.pdf
http://lib.ohchr.org/HRBodies/UPR/Documents/session12/SY/KIS-KurdsinSyria-eng.pdf

Problematic group histories (Elena):

Throughout history Syria has been a contested territory until the it was conquered by the
Ottoman empire, which islamic rules obliged tolerance towards each ethnic group left over
of the previous domination. When the french took over, they had a tolerant community, but
their aims to undermines islam by enhancing christianity and the imposition of the french
language uprised xenophobia between the groups and a raise in a nationalist feeling.
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/12/understanding-syria-from-pre-civilwar-to-post-assad/281989/