One of the wars that have the highest impact on its residents, the surrounding countries and to the global security is the civil war in Syria. The war started in 2011 and it still lasts. Millions of people have fled their homes and Turkey and European Union confront with millions of refugees. The war started approximately at the same time when the Arabian Spring occurred, but it did not stop. On the one hand, there is a totalitarian regime of Basher al-Assad and on the other; there are many fractions of militant groups who are forming, on the territory of Syria, the Islamic Republic (IS). The government of Bashar al-Assad is supported by the Russian government and IS is supported by Saudi Arabia. The Syrian society is completely destroyed and the cradle of civilization is now between two totalitarian regimes who destroy everything and everyone who comes on their way.
The statistics regarding the civil war in Syria are devastating. In February, 2016 nearly half a million people died since the beginning of the war. According to Barnard (2016), "The report from the Syrian Center for Policy Research said that at least 470,000 Syrians had died as a result of the war" (Barnard). It may seem strange, but the USA administration did not want to interfere with the Syrian war and believes that the peace can be obtained through peaceful negotiations. On the other hand, Russia is openly on the Bashar al-Assad's side and they helped Syrian government with air strikes to return some of the territory that was under control of IS. At the same time, the war has made the Syrian nation poor and according to the Report published by the University in Damascus, "It put the war’s economic cost at $255 billion, essentially wiping out the nation’s wealth" (Barnard, 2016). A country such as Syria rich in oil and other resources has been devastated and demolished by a civil war where the society as a structure ceased to exist.
In the past, sociologists have tried to understand the wars and the reasons for their appearance so that they would decrease wars and establish a secure society for people. However, no matter how much they try, the wars still continue to appear. If civil war in Syria is observed through the lenses of the conflict theory, then the reasons for its occurrence are clearer. Ever since the WW II, the family of Bashar al-Assad had been on the throne of Syria. There was a strong dictatorship of the regime and the when the Arabian Spring occurred in Tunisia, Egypt and other Middle East countries, the Syrian society was mature for a change, for introducing democracy into their country and the revolution. Revolution as one of the primary assumptions of the modern conflict theory occurred in Syria. According to the conflict theory, a conflict occurs because there are big gaps between social classes such was the case in Syrian society. According to Nassar (2013), "The conflict in Syria began as a protest against the corruption that blighted every aspect of people’s lives and the lack of freedom; the people demanded radical reforms in how Syria was governed" (Nassar). On the one side, there was Basher al-Assad with his powerful allies such as Russia and big amounts of money and on the other side there are poor people who can barely earn enough. However, this social discrepancy was used by another totalitarian and strong organization such as IS with their radical view of Islam and used the ignorance of the people to start a war.
While peace negotiations are currently taking place in Geneva, the Europe is facing with the biggest migrant crises since the WW II. It is my belief that the Syrian society was not prepared for democratic changes and started the revolution too soon. Due to that, radical Islamic groups took over the control of the country supported by the states that have their interest in Syria. In the same way as Ukraine is in the crossfire between Europe and Russia, Syria has become a battle field between Russia and the others.
References:
Barnard, Anne. (2016). Death Toll From War in Syria Now 470,000, Group Finds. Middle East. The New York Times. Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/12/world/middleeast/death-toll-from-war-in-syria-now-470000-group-finds.html?_r=0
Nassar, Nadim. (2013). What Caused Syria's Civil War? World Watch Monitor. Retrieved from: https://www.worldwatchmonitor.org/2013/08/2648161/
