The Syrian crisis began as a peaceful revolution calling for freedom and dignity against an authoritarian regime that oppressed the majority of the Syrian people. However, the Syrian regime’s forces confronted the uprising with violence and repression, transforming it into a civil war that led to the deaths of thousands of Syrians and the displacement of millions to neighboring countries and other parts of the world.
During the crisis, the Russian role emerged prominently through political support for the Syrian regime in the United Nations Security Council and the repeated use of the veto power to prevent the condemnation of its allied regime. Russia also provided military support to the Syrian government by arming and training its forces and sending military experts following the decline and retreat of Syrian government forces. Russia further aligned itself with Iran, which offered significant financial, economic, and military assistance to the Syrian regime and facilitated the arrival of sectarian militias to fight alongside Syrian government forces. As a result, an axis consisting of Russia, Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Hezbollah in Lebanon emerged, in contrast to the support provided by Turkey and several Gulf Cooperation Council states to the Syrian opposition.
The study argues that American policy toward the Syrian crisis was largely shaped by the new orientations of U.S. policy in the Middle East. More broadly, the paper observes that international actors were the most influential forces shaping the course of the crisis, particularly in light of the Arab League’s inability to reach a resolution. Given the deep overlap among the local, regional, and international dimensions of the conflict, any future settlement of the Syrian crisis will inevitably reflect this interconnectedness.
