5: Syria Causes Flashcards
Cause 1:
State terrorism
Argument:
Assad’s brutal treatment of his own people in attempting to suppress the Arab spring was the chief catalyst for the conflict
Security forces opened fire:
March 2011 - Security forces opened fire when people marched through the city after Friday prayers, killing 4
By … death toll:
By mid-May 2011, death toll from anti-government protests reach 1000
Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan:
“The regime has become one of state terrorism”
Paul Salem (Director of the Carnegie Centre of the Middle East):
“Terror is the basic approach … the logic was to hit hard, punish and scare”
Overall (State Terrorism):
Assad’s use of state terrorism was largely responsible for the uprising as it served to inspire acts of revolution against the Assad government.
Cause 2:
Sectarian divison
Alawite:
Account for 12% of Syria’s population
Alzazeera:
“What started as a peaceful rebellion that was violently suppressed is now an armed conflict with sectarian dimensions”
Sunni:
Account for 74% of the Syrian population
Overall (Sectarian division):
The nature of the Alawite belief system has facilitated the need for state terror as the religion directly contradicts conservative Sunni values.
Cause 3:
Climate Change & Economic inequalities
Argument (Climate Change):
There is an emerging school of thought that climate change is the primary cause of the Syrian civil war.
The … drought pushed:
2006-2010 drought pushed 1.5 million Syrians who lived on farms into cities
