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Samantha Escobar

Causes of the Civil War in Syria

In our history, we have seen time and time again as citizens rise up against their

governments in order to demand immediate change. In particular, civil wars are clear indicators

that a nation or state is fragmented. Thus, it is the government’s duty to listen to its people and

create the transformations that would better aid the nation in healing. However, sometimes there

isn’t just one reason as to why these civil wars occur. In fact, oftentimes there are many causes

that lead to domestic turmoil. The Syrian civil war is a perfect example of many issues

culminating into one big war. In particular, the Syrian drought, Arab Spring, and al-Assad’s

leadership all were factors that led to the inevitable civil war within Syria. Going into its 10th

year, the Syrian civil war may be coming to an end soon; however a decade of instability and

disorder has caused irreparable damage upon the institution itself and left citizens to put up with

the repercussions.

The Arab Spring movement began with people in North Africa and the Middle East

protesting in favor of implementing democratic institutions during 2010 and 2011. Specifically,

these rallies started in Tunisia during the Jasmine Revolution taking place in December 2010.1

“Protests soon overwhelmed the country’s security forces, and compelled President Zine

al-Abidine Ben Ali to step down and flee the country” in mid January.2 This eventually led to

Tunisia’s long anticipated free elections later on in the year. Not only was Tunisia able to

demand a new governmental institution, but Egypt acted in parallel by attempting to topple their
1
Orvis, Stephen Walter, and Carol Ann Drogus. Introducing Comparative Politics. CQ Press, an
Imprint of SAGE Publications, Inc., 2021.
2
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Arab Spring". Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Jan.
2021, https://www.britannica.com/event/Arab-Spring. Accessed 9 April 2021.
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own regime as well. In fact, “as [the Tunisian] revolt unfolded, Egyptians began flooding the

main square in Cairo, demanding the ouster of their even longer-ruling president, Hosni

Mubarak.” 3 Other Arab nations became inspired, leading to a domino effect of protests in

Bahrain, Libya, Syria, and Yemen; each attempting to force the hand of their regime.

Unfortunately, many of these nations clamped down on the protests incredibly violently by

suppressing their people, and alas, few of these nations saw improvements in their

administrations like Tunisia was able to produce.4

During the Arab Spring movement in Syria, millions of people called for President

Bashar al-Assad’s resignation, a leader that came into power after the death of his father in 2000.

The Syrian public was not afraid to voice their political opinions since they were hopeful it

would lead to results similar to Tunisia’s. The consequences of Arab Spring in Syria included

many people fleeing the nation and then seeking refuge in neighboring countries like Turkey and

Western European nations. 5 Additionally, following the 2011 protests, Islamic militant groups,

such as ISIS, began to gain massive followings and influence within Syria. A “full-scale war

between the Syrian government- backed by Russia and Iran- and anti-government rebel groups-

backed by the United States, Saudi Arabia, and others in the region.”6 By unveiling such

fragmentation and disunity within the country, the Arab Spring movement that seemingly looked

3
Orvis, Stephen Walter, and Carol Ann Drogus. Introducing Comparative Politics. CQ Press, an
Imprint of SAGE Publications, Inc., 2021.
4
History.com Editors. “Arab Spring.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 10 Jan. 2018,
www.history.com/topics/middle-east/arab-spring.
5
History.com Editors. “Arab Spring.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 10 Jan. 2018,
www.history.com/topics/middle-east/arab-spring.
6
“Civil War in Syria | Global Conflict Tracker.” Council on Foreign Relations, Council on
Foreign Relations, www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/civil-war-syria.
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like it would bring the end to a suppressive and intolerant regime, actually played a large role in

setting up the Syrian civil war.

Moving on from Arab Spring, another factor that precipitated the assured Syrian civil war

was the Syrian drought that ravaged the area beginning in 2006 and lasted until 2010. The

drought can be attributed to warmer waters in the “eastern Mediterranean which can only be

explained by a rise in greenhouse emissions and human-induced climate change.”7 Taking place

in the Fertile Crescent and encompassing nations such as Egypt, Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan,

Iraq, Turkey, and Syria, this drought was extremely severe as well as long; condemning the

region to irrevocable economic and social devastation.8 Pushing those living in rural agricultural

parts of the nation towards the cities, the Syrian government was not equipped to deal with the

sudden influx of people to urbanized areas. In addition, “competition over resources and jobs,

already scarce following decades of poor governance, took on an ethnic dimension.” 9

The Syrian drought played a role in the eventual civil war because it showed the issues

already present in managing the nation. By not organizing food properly during the drought and

not allocating resources efficiently, the al-Assad administration failed their people. It was

through watching the ineffectiveness of the regime that the citizenry became outraged and came

to the realization that changes needed to be made immediately. Hence, the Syrian drought

actually was a major contributor to the civil war, since it aided in revealing how poorly the

Syrian institution governed the state.

7
Karak, Madhuri. “Climate Change and Syria's Civil War.” JSTOR Daily , 12 Sept. 2019,
daily.jstor.org/climate-change-and-syrias-civil-war/.
8
Karak, Madhuri. “Climate Change and Syria's Civil War.” JSTOR Daily , 12 Sept. 2019,
daily.jstor.org/climate-change-and-syrias-civil-war/.
9
“Civil War in Syria | Global Conflict Tracker.” Council on Foreign Relations, Council on
Foreign Relations, www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/civil-war-syria.
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Lastly, a huge factor that led to the insurgency within Syria is their current leader: Bashar

al-Assad. Coming to power in 2000 after the death of his father, al-Assad was seen as a hopeful

reprieve to the tyrannical and dictatorial regime his father had led. 10 However, “in politics, a

brief turn toward greater participation was quickly reversed, and Assad revived the authoritarian

tactics of his late father’s administration, including pervasive censorship and surveillance and

brutal violence against suspected opponents of the regime”11 Ergo, due to the extreme

suppression enacted by the al-Assad administration coupled with inner disunity, protests that

were meant to bring change to a desperately needed nation unfortunately turned into a violent

civil war. 12 His actions as a leader should be held as responsible for creating a toxic environment

that allowed militant groups to thrive in as well.

The Syrian civil war is an example of many factors building up to an inescapable conflict.

With many world powers joining sides, the war has clearly gotten out of hand. Going from just

the people versus the government, new players have joined the fight over the past 10 years

including the Kurds, Jihadist groups, the Syrian government backed by the Russians and Iran,

and the Syrian rebel forces backed by the United States. Despite there being a plethora of reasons

as to why the Syrian civil war occured, the main reasons undoubtedly include the long and

consequential drought, the leadership of Bashar al-Assad within the Syrian regime, and the Arab

Spring movement that showcased the peoples’ desperate pleas for help.

10
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Arab Spring". Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Jan.
2021, https://www.britannica.com/event/Arab-Spring. Accessed 9 April 2021.
11
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Arab Spring". Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Jan.
2021, https://www.britannica.com/event/Arab-Spring. Accessed 9 April 2021.
12
Orvis, Stephen Walter, and Carol Ann Drogus. Introducing Comparative Politics. CQ Press, an
Imprint of SAGE Publications, Inc., 2021.
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Bibliography

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Arab Spring". Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Jan

. 2021, https://www.britannica.com/event/Arab-Spring. Accessed 9 April 2021.

 Escobar 6

“Civil War in Syria | Global Conflict Tracker.” Council on Foreign Relations, Council on

Foreign Relations, www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/civil-war-syria.

History.com Editors. “Arab Spring.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 10 Jan. 2018,

www.history.com/topics/middle-east/arab-spring.

Karak, Madhuri. “Climate Change and Syria's Civil War.” JSTOR Daily , 12 Sept. 2019,

daily.jstor.org/climate-change-and-syrias-civil-war/.

Orvis, Stephen Walter, and Carol Ann Drogus. Introducing Comparative Politics. CQ Press,

an Imprint of SAGE Publications, Inc., 2021.