The conflict in Syria has taken on a new twist in the last couple of months. After more than more than a decade of being a snob in the eyes of the Syrian government. Bashar al-Assad appears to be working to repair relationships with its neighbors even as the conflict continues to devastate the country. Following the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in August and September, there has been a shift in the Arab world has begun to establish normal relations with Syria as well as President Biden’s US administration has not utilized the Caesar Act (to authorise sanctions) against any of the countries.The US’ close ally Jordan’s King Abdullah received a phone call earlier in the month from al-Assad following more than a decade of tensions relationships. This came on the heels of the announcement on September 27th that the borders between the two countries will be open to trade. After that, economic talks with Syria and UAE started as the finance ministers of the two countries met on sides of the Dubai Expo on 5 October. Syria starts to normalize, The US has supported a gas pipeline project that passes throughout Syria — which is seen as a sign Biden is too on board.However the last week Secretary of State Antony Blinken made it clear that the US is not in support of attempts for “normalise relations” with al-Assad’s regime, which is currently under sanctions.
Syria prior to the civil war
Syria became independent in 1946, separating from France after being ruled by France for 26 years after the end of the Ottoman Empire. However, what it didn’t get was stability.Syria is a country with 2.2 million people, with nearly 75 percent of them Sunni Muslims. But the president Bashar al-Assad belongs to the Alawite sect that accounts for about 12 percent in Syria’s population.Between 1950 and 1951 between 1949 and 1951, there four coups of the military in Syria. In 1958, Syria ceded to the United Arab Republic (UAR) in a new union between Syria and Egypt headed by Egypt’s Gamal Abdel Nasser. The two states were able to be separated again in the year 1961 following an uprising led by Syrian Army officers to re-establish the Syrian state. Syria.
In a coup that took place in 1963 in 1963, it was the Ba’ath Party, which was created in the year 1947, in 1947 by Michel Aflaq, came to the throne. However, the civilian wing of the party was not a part of the ruling party due to disagreements between the military wingand in fact, Michel Aflaq was left out.The military wing was led by Hafez al-Assad, who took his position in 1971 following several coups, and held the presidency until his death in the year 2000. His son Bashar al-Assad was elected head of Syria at the age of 34 and was regarded as an emerging leader with innovative ideas. To be president, the age of eligibility was cut from 40 to 34 years.Bashar was able to release more than 600 political prisoners during his first term as president. These actions were viewed as progressive as he pursued moderate policies. But, there soon was discontent from within the Ba’ath party and Bashar started to claim control over the country and his party. In the 2007 election, widely known as the “sham”, he won without opposition, securing 97.6 percent of the votes.
The initiative was launched in 2014. Syria and Its Neighbours initiative was a significant multi-year research initiative that sought to increase understanding of the political, social economic, demographic and security challenges facing Syria and the impact they have on the states that border it; Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Israel.The initiative created an expert network of government officials and academics, as well as civil society leaders from the Middle East and internationally with the goal of assisting in the creation of a holistic and coordinated policy response to the regional dynamics of the conflict and its the long-term implications.
