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Policy and History

In:

Submitted By robeji17
Words 1028
Pages 5
Robert F. Obeji
April 26, 2014
EC: 462
Prof. Rush
Policy and History of the Arab Spring in Syria

As the Arab Spring developed throughout the Middle East in early 2010, countries such as Tunisia and Egypt adopted peaceful solutions to transition from authoritative governments to democratic inspired political systems. In Syria, the situation was different, the country unraveled into chaos as groups sought to gain power over each other in an attempt to oust Bashar Al Assad’s 70 year old regime. What happened was four years of warfare without end in sight, and 6.5 million Syrian refugees seeking asylum outside of Syria.
Compared to the whole of the Middle East, Syria as a country tends to be one of the most diverse in the region. Syria has numerous sects of Islam, Christians, Jews, and foreign religions in an area the size of Ohio. It also has the Kurds in the North who consider themselves outside of the Arab-centric culture. When Hafez Al Assad took power in the early 1970’s, he adopted a nationalistic view as his minority group would be contested by the majority Sunni population (theatlantic.com). Prior to adopting that policy, the Baath party was ruled by Gamal Abdel Nasser who united Egypt and Syria as part of the United Arab Republic. Nationalism took effect throughout the Middle East as the Ottoman Empire, Britain, and France started to lose its grasp over the region. Nationalism was a way to unite a divided people against a common foe. After realizing the dream of a united Middle East was not achievable in the minds of most Arabs, Syria detached itself from the union and was ran without foreign intervention. After Hafez passed his presidency to his son Bashar in 2000, the country was ran with the same hardline tactics. As low growth, high unemployment, and even severe drought hit the region, Syria’s revolution loomed as more and more people became

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