THE ARAB SPRING IS LIKE THE EVENT THAT BURNED THE SYRIAN CRISIS
BAKU AZERBAIJAN
SUMMARY
In modern times, a number of regions of the world have become the center of wars and political and
economic reforms. One of such regions is the Middle East. Since 2010, the Arab Spring has laid the
groundwork for ongoing conflicts in 16 countries in the region. It should be noted that the impact of the
Arab Spring on various areas should be noted not only in the Eastern region, but also in other regions.
The stable changes that have taken place in connection with the wave of unrest that began in Tunisia are
now stable and have caused problems. Syria is witnessing the worst consequences of the Arab Spring.
The use of force to protest the nationwide protests, which began in 2011, has intensified. The Syrian
demands, which have lasted for nearly 10 years, are aimed at forcing more than 6 million people to flee
their homes and destroy the country's overall economic system. At the international level, where the war
in Syria is still ongoing, it has become impossible for regional actors to address the threat of conflict.
KEYWORDS: Arab Spring, Syria, Syrian regime
INTRODUCTION
Although it has been going on for a long time, the still unresolved situation in Syria has affected a number
of economic and social situations. Turkey, such as Lebanon and Iraq, are among those who have
experienced these effects. Today, the Syrian conflict, which has become the center of migrant control,
inviolability of borders, terrorism and other such global problems, is still relevant. The study examines
the causes and consequences of the onset of Syria. The expediency of the research is to investigate the
role of the Arab Spring in the ongoing conflict in Syria and to identify a characteristic that is equally
common to each of the existing in the Syrian example. International and local sources and statistics are
used in the preparation of the research.
RESEARCH METHOD
Methods such as comparison, analysis and generalization can be used in the research. Initially, the term
Arab Spring was analyzed as a phenomenon, the essence of the term was explained and politicized
against other similar revolutions. The second section of the study analyzes the causes and development
dynamics of Syria. In general, during the preparation of the work, research was conducted, data of certain
sizes were studied.
1. The beginning of the "Arab Spring"
The "Arab Spring", which has significantly changed the geopolitical situation in the world, is a wave of
protests in the Arab world over unemployment, high food prices, bureaucratic hurdles and low living
standards. The term "Arab Spring" resulted in a wave of political upheaval in most of Aurora's countries,
with the overthrow of old monarchical structures and their replacement by a more progressive form of
government. Another revolutionary use of the word "spring" was the "Spring of Raga", which took place
in 1968 in Czechoslovakia. The emergence and expansion of the Arab Spring is reminiscent of the 1989
"Commonwealth of Nations" in Eastern Europe. The communist regimes began to disintegrate under the
pressure of mass protests with the domino effect. In a short period of time, most countries of the former
communist bloc have adopted democratic political systems with market economies. The Arab Spring has
changed the political structure of the Middle East, covering a total of 16 countries.
On December 18, 2010, for the first time, rallies against the political regime in Tunisia began. The rallies
intensified when 26-year-old Mohammad Bouazizi set himself on fire in protest of the treatment of local
officials. Following the assassination of Mohamed Bouazizi, a social media campaign was launched in
Tunisia called "Let's give jasmine to the police." As the name implies, the revolution that resulted in the
overthrow of the government in Tunisia was called the "Lilac Revolution". The wave of protests soon
spread throughout the country. Violent clashes broke out between protesters and police in various
Tunisian cities. On January 14, 2011, Tunisia's second president, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, and Prime
Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi resigned and fled the country. The roller coaster system, the ousted
president's party, and a number of authoritarian institutions were abolished.
2. Causes and consequences of the Syrian crisis
Syria is one of the richest countries in the Middle East. Although part of the Ottoman Empire for a long
time, the political situation in Syria changed in the twentieth century. As a result of the defeat of the
Ottoman Empire in World War I, Ottoman troops were forced to leave Syria in 1918. In 1928, Syria was
officially declared a French mandate. Although included in World War II as a mandated territory of
France, in December 1943, the mandate of France over Syria was revoked. Despite the abolition of the
mandate system, French military units remained in Syria until 1946. This date is marked as Syria's
Independence Day, as the last foreign soldier left the country on April 17, 1946.
Although Syria was an independent country, its political structure was unstable. Between 1946 and 1963,
there were two government crises in Syria. Serious government crises, confrontations between political
parties, including the beginning of the Cold War, and the serious struggles between the cartelist and
socialist countries were the main reasons for the political situation in Syria. In this situation, on March 8,
1963, the power in Syria passed through a revolution into the hands of the Arab Socialist Revival Party
(Arabic abbreviation BAS). Since 1963, March 8 of each subsequent year has been marked as Revolution
Day in Syria. On February 28, 1966, the leadership of the country passed into the hands of the left wing
of the BAS party. In November 1970, a group led by General Hafez al-Assad came to power. Hafez alAssad is building an authoritarian system in the country. The army, the police, the court are still
dependent on the president. Hafez al-Assad was president of Syria from 1970 to 2000 (until his death).
With the death of Hafez al-Assad, power passed to his son Bashar al-Assad.
After coming to power in 2000, Bashar al-Assad, like his father, promised to carry out various economic
reforms. Among these promises were innovative achievements such as liberalizing the economy, opening
the market to foreign investment, and allowing foreign banks to operate in Syria. However, in the tenth
year of his rule, Syria still did not have a liberal economy.
Syria's economic life has been deeply politicized since the time of Hafez Assad. This process continued
under Bashar al-Assad. State regulation of the economy has led to the formation of low-income and
corrupt bureaucracies. The situation of the Syrian people has worsened since the early 2000s.
Reconstruction strategies sought to implement as the country's economic resources dwindled further
exacerbated unemployment. In addition, the drought was a harbinger of economic collapse for the Syrian
people, whose economy was largely made up of the agricultural sector. The lack of legitimacy of Bashar
al-Assad's government, the unequal distribution of state revenues, and the revolutionary environment
brought about by the Arab Spring in Tunisia have led to protests in Syria since January 2011. Protests,
government intervention, arrests and deaths followed. The country's government, which initially hoped to
quell the revolution, was unable to prevent a civil war in the country two years later.
CONCLUSION
The consequences of the conflict in Syria are not limited to the country's borders. It is estimated that the
economic damage caused by the Syrian crisis to five neighboring countries (Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan,
Iraq and Egypt) is estimated at $ 35 billion. This amount is equal to the gross domestic product of Syria in
2007. The continuation of the conflict is constantly increasing the amount of damage. Recent data show
that a total of 6.5 million people have been forced to flee their homes. People who have left Syria for one
reason or another have spread around the world. Countries such as Turkey, Lebanon and Iraq are the
worst hit by the migrant crisis. Of course, the beginning of the Arab Spring has exacerbated the unrest in
Syria, prompting citizens to take to the streets to protest.
SOURCES
1. Britannica, “arab spring”, may 2019. (online article) link: (https://www.britannica.com/)
2. Çağatay özdemir, "causes of the civil war in syria: autocratic governance, regional and global powers?"
(magazine article), january 2016, pages: 5-6
3. History editors, “arab spring” (online article), 2018 link: (https://www.history.com/topics/middleeast/arab-spring)
4. Mahmoud arayssi, ali fakih, nathir haimoun, ıza- ınstitute of labor economics. “did the arab spring
reduce mena countries’ growth? ” (magazine article), april 2020
5. Harvard divinty school, country profils syria 2020, (online article) link:
https://rpl.hds.harvard.edu/religion-context/country-profiles/syria