Syria: From Popular Uprising to Civil War

Abstract

The uprising in Syria began in March 2011 as part of wider Arab uprisings with peaceful protests against the Syrian regime. There were many socio-economic and political reasons behind the Syrian uprising. Primarily, people were demanding economic and administrative reforms and greater share in the political participation. But instead of fulfilling the demands of the protesting public, the Syrian security forces cracked down on them and that resulted into an armed struggle between regime and opposition that turned into a horrific civil war. The civil war has caused thousands of casualties as millions became displaced and refugees leaving Syria in search of a safer place in neighboring countries. Within a few months of the civil war, the internal conflict of Syria turned into an internationalized proxy war for many regional and global powers. One group including Russia and Iran stood by the Syrian regime while on the other side United States and its regional allies Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar, and Israel supported the opposition. Globally, the United States and Russia whereas at regional level Saudi Arabia and Iran took different sides and squared off against one another. It led to the prolongation of civil war and destruction of Syria. The current chapter is an attempt to discuss the background of Syrian uprising and how it turned into a civil war. The chapter begins with the conceptual understanding of civil war followed by origin and course of the Syrian civil war and the role of external actors. It is concluded by mentioning the consequences of war and how Syria becomes world’s largest humanitarian crisis in recent history.