The Syrian Insurgency and Its Aftermath

Abstract

The failure of the Syrian revolution was the violent culmination of the popular revolutions that thrust themselves in 2010 upon the Arab world, known popularly as the ‘Arab Spring’. Bashar Assad’s uncompromising reaction was the culmination of a reactionary trend aimed at defeating the upsurge of the popular Arab desire for a democratic polity. An examination of the contrary forces that halted the Arab spring is crucial to understanding the endless nature of the conflict in Syria. The extreme and violent reaction by Syrian government forces, while driving the popular will underground, opened the field for organized radical Islamic groups. The chapter looks at the reasons that motivated the Assad government in persisting with its violent reaction and whether another road was possible. In the context of the US occupation of Iraq, Syrian reaction created a rationale, no less a precedent, on the part of regional and world powers to enter the civil war. The motivation for their entry, unmindful of international law prescriptions, is elaborated.