Since the people’s uprising in 2011 against the authoritarian regime of Bashar Al Assad and its oppressive policies, Syria is entangled in a long spiral of violent conflict. Though a number of factors explain the violent nature of war and its longevity, however sectarianism proved to be the most significant and the most dominant factors of all. The dominancy of minority Alawite community in the country led to the discrimination against other sects especially the Sunni majority, comprising 74 percent of the total population. Such prejudices against Sunnis and other sects have pitched Syrian people against the regime which evolved into a long and sectarian civil war that dominates the Syrian society till date. Applying Protracted Social Conflict Model, this paper tries to answer the question that how sectarianism played a role in the perpetuation of the Syrian civil war during 2011-2018. Using qualitative methods of analysis, the paper endeavours to dig out the roots of the current violent conflict in the country. For data collection and analysis, secondary sources in the form of books, research articles and other internet sources have been consulted in an attempt to analyse what is unknown on the basis of what is known.
Since the peoples uprising in 2011 against the authoritarian regime of Bashar Al Assad and its oppressive policies, Syria is entangled in a long spiral of violent conflict. Though several factors explain the violent nature of the conflict and its longevity. However, the geopolitical interests of the regional and global powers like Saudi Arabia vs. Iran and the US vs. Russia respectively, in this country has been the main determinant of this war. The intervention of the US and Russia in this war for their vested geopolitical interests has brought havoc and disaster to the country. By supporting opposite parties both these states have, instead of creating peace, prolonged the conflict for almost a decade. This paper tries to analyze the role of the global powers in the Syrian civil war, through the Power Transition Theory. No prospects of peace are visible in the near future as long as they try to balance one anothers power or unless there emerges a clear dominant power.
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