There are many factors which have contributed to the causes of the Syrian Civil War. This includes Syria’s geography, the political repression when President Bashar Al-Assad came into power, the nation’s uneven economy, corruption and state violence
Geography
Syria’s geography plays an important part of the initiation of the Syrian civil war, because of its harsh conditions and the lack of benefits it has for the population. Being a small, poor and crowded country, it has difficulty sustaining its inhabitants. Although on the map Syria appears about the size of Washington State or Spain, only a quarter of its 185,000 square kilometres is suitable for growing crops. This leaves the country as mostly desert, which becomes subjected to extreme temperatures that cause frequent dust storms and periodic droughts. From 2006 to 2011, Syria had suffered ecological and economical casualties from the four years of devastating droughts. Syria had 60 significant dust storms from 2001 to 2010 which had removed topsoil and ultimately triggered the civil war in a political aspect. The amount of arable land had been significantly reduced, which put the citizens of Syria under harsh conditions and so they resorted to competition to survive which eventually caused the civil war to rise. [1]
Figure 1: In this 2010 NASA satellite image, vast dust storms can be seen dispersing the light soils of Syria. (NASA). It depicts Syria with its bordering countries, Turkey and Iraq. As shown in the satellite image, many areas in Syria have had its topsoil removed, creating infertile land, which was one of the sources of the creation of the Syrian Civil War. [1]
Rainfall caused by high temperatures cause these drought conditions. Issues arose when there was only rainfall of just 20 to 40 centimetres in the areas where rain was most likely to fall and 20 centimetres is regarded as the absolute minimum to sustain agriculture. The national average was less than 10 centimetres of rainfall and most of the rain occurs during the winter months, when crops are not suitable to grow. All of these aspects indicate that Syria has extreme difficulty sustaining its population with agriculture, especially when they become heavily reliant on irrigation which also became difficult to access. During recent years, ground water has been so heavily tapped that the water table has fallen below what a farmer can access. Another source of Syria’s irrigation is the country’s main river, the Euphrates. However, the river is heavily drawn down by its neighbouring countries, Turkey and Iraq, further limiting, the country’s ability to sustain its agriculture. Syria’s geographical conditions deprived the country of its ability to survive with agriculture which also created a negative impact on its economy, which eventually propelled it towards the current ongoing civil war. With decades of prior poorly planned agricultural policies, the people weren’t satisfied with the government subsides and secondary water resources, their anger regards the living costs and agricultural policies helped fuel the uprisings. [1]
Geography
Syria’s geography plays an important part of the initiation of the Syrian civil war, because of its harsh conditions and the lack of benefits it has for the population. Being a small, poor and crowded country, it has difficulty sustaining its inhabitants. Although on the map Syria appears about the size of Washington State or Spain, only a quarter of its 185,000 square kilometres is suitable for growing crops. This leaves the country as mostly desert, which becomes subjected to extreme temperatures that cause frequent dust storms and periodic droughts. From 2006 to 2011, Syria had suffered ecological and economical casualties from the four years of devastating droughts. Syria had 60 significant dust storms from 2001 to 2010 which had removed topsoil and ultimately triggered the civil war in a political aspect. The amount of arable land had been significantly reduced, which put the citizens of Syria under harsh conditions and so they resorted to competition to survive which eventually caused the civil war to rise. [1]
Figure 1: In this 2010 NASA satellite image, vast dust storms can be seen dispersing the light soils of Syria. (NASA). It depicts Syria with its bordering countries, Turkey and Iraq. As shown in the satellite image, many areas in Syria have had its topsoil removed, creating infertile land, which was one of the sources of the creation of the Syrian Civil War. [1]
Rainfall caused by high temperatures cause these drought conditions. Issues arose when there was only rainfall of just 20 to 40 centimetres in the areas where rain was most likely to fall and 20 centimetres is regarded as the absolute minimum to sustain agriculture. The national average was less than 10 centimetres of rainfall and most of the rain occurs during the winter months, when crops are not suitable to grow. All of these aspects indicate that Syria has extreme difficulty sustaining its population with agriculture, especially when they become heavily reliant on irrigation which also became difficult to access. During recent years, ground water has been so heavily tapped that the water table has fallen below what a farmer can access. Another source of Syria’s irrigation is the country’s main river, the Euphrates. However, the river is heavily drawn down by its neighbouring countries, Turkey and Iraq, further limiting, the country’s ability to sustain its agriculture. Syria’s geographical conditions deprived the country of its ability to survive with agriculture which also created a negative impact on its economy, which eventually propelled it towards the current ongoing civil war. With decades of prior poorly planned agricultural policies, the people weren’t satisfied with the government subsides and secondary water resources, their anger regards the living costs and agricultural policies helped fuel the uprisings. [1]
Figure 2: This is a map of the Mediterranean showing the drought conditions of 2010, by the U.S National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. There is a scale presented, displaying the areas which have been severely been affected by drought on the red side and areas which have been mildly been affected or unaffected by drought on the green side by measuring its rainfall. As seen in the map, the whole Eastern Mediterranean was severely affected. [1]
Uneven Economy
Syria's struggle to sustain with agriculture has created a huge effect upon the nation's economy. According to the World Bank in 2012 agriculture supplied about 20 percent of Syria's national income and employed about 17 percent of the population. With the removal of the topsoil because of the country's geographical conditions, this portion of its economy has been severely damaged.
Energy related industry employed about a third of the adult male population and provided a similar percentage of the national income Syria's oil supplies are also a huge part of the economy, its oil fields being able to produce approximately 330,000 barrels per day, but Syrians 260,000 of that amount, leaving 70,000 for sales and exports. About 20 percent of the national income are supplied by sales, which in turn supplied a third of export earnings. However, there are also issues with this, with Syria's oil being of poor quality, sour, and expensive to refine. According to the U.S Energy Information Administration, production subsequently fell by at least 50 percent. Exports of oil and gas were planned from farther east across Syria to the Mediterranean. However, these projects have been stopped due to the rise of the civil war. Instead, it is replaced by a sort of cottage industry in crude refining of petroleum products for local use and smuggling. [2]
Uneven Economy
Syria's struggle to sustain with agriculture has created a huge effect upon the nation's economy. According to the World Bank in 2012 agriculture supplied about 20 percent of Syria's national income and employed about 17 percent of the population. With the removal of the topsoil because of the country's geographical conditions, this portion of its economy has been severely damaged.
Energy related industry employed about a third of the adult male population and provided a similar percentage of the national income Syria's oil supplies are also a huge part of the economy, its oil fields being able to produce approximately 330,000 barrels per day, but Syrians 260,000 of that amount, leaving 70,000 for sales and exports. About 20 percent of the national income are supplied by sales, which in turn supplied a third of export earnings. However, there are also issues with this, with Syria's oil being of poor quality, sour, and expensive to refine. According to the U.S Energy Information Administration, production subsequently fell by at least 50 percent. Exports of oil and gas were planned from farther east across Syria to the Mediterranean. However, these projects have been stopped due to the rise of the civil war. Instead, it is replaced by a sort of cottage industry in crude refining of petroleum products for local use and smuggling. [2]
Figure 3: This is a map depicting Syria and the locations of its oil and gas fields. As seen in the map, Syria mainly operates oil fields which have been linked together by various oil lines. The few gas fields are linked together by one main gas line which then branch into two other lines. From this information, Syria can be seen as having a productive way of transporting its oil and gas. [1]
Cautious reform of the remnants of socialism opened the door to private investment, triggering an explosion of consumerism among the urban upper-middle classes. However, privatization has favored families with personal links to Assad, leaving provincial Syria, later the hotbed of the uprising, seething with anger as living costs soared and jobs remained scarce.
Political Repression
In 2000, after the death of his father, Bashar Al-Assad assumed power which continued his families rule since 1970. Assad first signalled that he was going to rule under democracy, however, hopes for reforms diminished as power was concentrated in the ruling family and a single party system guaranteed their longevity. During this time the country went under emergency rule, banning public gatherings of more than five people, and effectively granting security forces the power to put anyone under arrest or detention irrationally. Rights of free expression, association and assembly were strictly con- trolled in Syria. The authorities harassed and imprisoned human rights activists and other critics of the government, who were indefinitely detained and tortured in poor prison conditions. Women and ethnic minorities faced discrimination in the public sector. With no peaceful transfer of power since 1970’s, change was necessary to protect the rights of Syria’s people and this was only possible through a military coup or uprising. [2]
Cautious reform of the remnants of socialism opened the door to private investment, triggering an explosion of consumerism among the urban upper-middle classes. However, privatization has favored families with personal links to Assad, leaving provincial Syria, later the hotbed of the uprising, seething with anger as living costs soared and jobs remained scarce.
Political Repression
In 2000, after the death of his father, Bashar Al-Assad assumed power which continued his families rule since 1970. Assad first signalled that he was going to rule under democracy, however, hopes for reforms diminished as power was concentrated in the ruling family and a single party system guaranteed their longevity. During this time the country went under emergency rule, banning public gatherings of more than five people, and effectively granting security forces the power to put anyone under arrest or detention irrationally. Rights of free expression, association and assembly were strictly con- trolled in Syria. The authorities harassed and imprisoned human rights activists and other critics of the government, who were indefinitely detained and tortured in poor prison conditions. Women and ethnic minorities faced discrimination in the public sector. With no peaceful transfer of power since 1970’s, change was necessary to protect the rights of Syria’s people and this was only possible through a military coup or uprising. [2]
References
[1] Polk, W. (2013). Understanding Syria: From Pre-Civil War to Post-Assad. [online] The Atlantic. Available at: http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/12/understanding-syria-from-pre-civil-war-to-post-assad/281989/ [Accessed 4 Nov. 2014].
[2] Manfreda, P. (2014). 10 Major Factors that Led to the Syrian War. [online] About. Available at: http://middleeast.about.com/od/syria/tp/Syrian-Uprising.htm [Accessed 4 Nov. 2014].
[1] Polk, W. (2013). Understanding Syria: From Pre-Civil War to Post-Assad. [online] The Atlantic. Available at: http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/12/understanding-syria-from-pre-civil-war-to-post-assad/281989/ [Accessed 4 Nov. 2014].
[2] Manfreda, P. (2014). 10 Major Factors that Led to the Syrian War. [online] About. Available at: http://middleeast.about.com/od/syria/tp/Syrian-Uprising.htm [Accessed 4 Nov. 2014].