Download DHR #5-Evolution of Syria

Spring 2016
History 105
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DHR #5-Evolution of Syria-Joshua Stoller
Joshua Stoller
4/4/16
History 105
Dr. Stratton
Evolution of Syria
ISIS is a jihadist military group that claims religious, political and military authority over all Muslims
worldwide. They use their force and violence to scare people into believing in them and following
their beliefs. For months and months, the White House and President Obama didn’t have any
answer to what to do to stop their widespread rain of terror [1]. Everyone feared ISIS and believed
they were and still are a significate threat to our homeland. Many people think this will lead to
another 100,000-troup deployment even though the White House says they will try everything else
before they resort to that option [2]. Overall the question many Americans hold is, what is ISIS
capable of and when will they have a large-scale attack? The public as a whole would like to make
sure we are prepared for significant damage to our country. The problems like this that we currently
are seeing on the news and in reports have a direct correlation to back to the Middle East. This
one, in particular, has ties to Syria. By going back to the 1920’s to the 1980’s in Syria and looking
at Syria as a British colony under the post-WWI Mandate System the core of these issues today
can be seen.
The history of the middle east over time has consisted of many ups and downs. Many of today's
current world peace issues have stemmed out of original conflicts in the middle east. The region is
the birthplace of many religions creating a large self-divide between the people. Rising conflicts
and hatred have led to years of upheaval and extreme violence. The roots of the problem can be
drawn back to the early years after the conclusion of the first world war. The political difference
between Britain and France, along with the mutual belief that both of them should have control of
the region can be considered a starting point for the evolution of Syria. Looking at Syria in a
geographic standpoint shows it is possibly one the most desired pieces of land, although over time
we can see that economically, it could not survive by itself. The overthrow of the Ottoman Empire
was the start of the control and power struggle in Syria. Ultimately leading into years of control by
the French. The constant fighting and unwanted French authority led to a national uprising. As the
start of the second world war presented itself, Syria saw the opportunity to break free and become
independent. But in order to maintain its own control they turned to the European Powers. The
mandate system was soon started because European Powers decided that their colonies were not
"ready" to become independent states.
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The Middle East has always been and area of vast differences. “As home to some of the world’s
earliest civilizations and the birthplace of three great religions, the Middle East offers a rich tapestry
of human life and deeply ingrained traditions” [3]. The three religions bring with them substantial
differences in people, beliefs, and traditions. This is at times an excellent thing however it has
proven to have many challenges over the years. With all the great things the Middle East holds, it
has also been known to be a very political area over time. “The region’s political history, both
classic and modern, has been punctuated by the rise and fall of great powers, colonial domination,
the birth or creation of new countries, and uneven marches toward political and economic
development” [4]. The results of the collision between these two developments can be historically
shown throughout time for several decades.
In the news article "SYRIA--Crossroads & Battleground" published in Times Magazine the history
and origins of the problem in Syria are brought to light. Many people believe that the core of the
problems we have seen throughout the years in Syria are because of the history of that region and
the ongoing conflicts over land. Syria is made of very diverse ethnic and religious groups who have
constant power struggles. It was not until World War One when the region was struck by surprise
when Lawrence of Arabia and Sheriff Hussein of Mecca set Arab nationalism into a spiral and Syria
was finally able to emerge from the long reigns of the Ottoman Empire. Just when the Arabs
thought that the land was finally theirs for good, they suffered a devastating blow when they
learned that the British had already assigned Syria to France and Iraq to themselves.
“Under a League of Nations mandate, the French treated Syria as a colony, exploiting and
repressing it until, a nationalist revolt started by the Druses in 1925 spread to Damascus, French
troops twice bombarded the city, killing over 1,000 people” [5]. With the French at arms with Syria,
it was not until 1941 something changed. Figure 2 shows a map of Syria and Lebanon during the
French Mandate period. From the map, you can see the geography of the region and Syria's
surroundings.
In 1941, the Vichy government gave the Nazis permission to use Syrian bases to store and service
German aircraft. In a relentless, month-long campaign, British and Free French forces (who began
the invasion with the proclaimed intention of giving Syria independence) overwhelmed 35,000
stubborn Vichy troops. The Free French almost immediately began to retreat from their promises of
freedom, but France's wartime weakness gave her old Mideast rival Britain an irresistible
opportunity. In 1945, when rioting broke out in Damascus, Winston Churchill compelled the French
to confine their troops to Syria to barracks. Within two months Syria was for all practical purposes
an independent state [6].
Once Syria gained its independence, it eventually became a founding member of the United
Nations. Although their post-independence period was filled with a large number of overthrow
attempts until ultimately Syria was put under Emergency Law from 1963 to 2011. Hence the
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creation of the mandate system. Figure 1 shows the flag that was adopted by the independent
state on April 17th 1946, Independence Day. It stood as a symbol of resistance against the
French.
Britain played an influential part when it came to the mandate system. “From a British standpoint, it
was bound to be taken as a form of words to cloak the fact of British imperial control. However,
since this was for a limited period leading to independence, it meant that there could be no longterm plans for full incorporation into the imperial system” [7]. Britain played a large role in helping
Syria reach independence by getting out from under French control. Although there is proof, they
were just there for themselves. “This was, of course, predictable. Britain and France were there for
their own purposes, strategic, economic, ideological. Mandatory control gave Britain strategic
control of much of the Middle East until 1955” [8]. As to be guessed, they were helping out Syria
but just trying to stay close enough to wait for their chance to act.
The 1940’s and 1950’s in the Middle East proved to be challenging for the newly independent
states. “These ostensibly modern states were thrust unprepared into a competitive international
environment in which they had to foster rapid economic and industrial development and, most
importantly, satisfy the growing nationalist aspirations of their populations” [9]. Even more
important to Syria are the issues in Middle Eastern politics that to this day not completely resolved.
There are three issues that currently shape the politics of the Middle East. The first being the
Palestinian-Israel conflict. The second being the problem of economic development in the middle
east. Lastly, the political struggle between the forces of democracy and autocracy [10]. These
conflicts are also so to blame for the political unrest in the Middle East.
Throughout history, another common idea to why Syria is the being it is today has to do with its
geography. Syria has a very complex and compact geography. “A formidable barrier of mountains
on the north, desert along its eastern and southern boundaries, and sea on the west--an almost
perfect geographical rectangle” [11]. Also, consider its position as an intersection between Europe,
Asia, and Africa. It is because of this geographical location that throughout history Syria has been
known as a battleground between empires [12]. Lastly, “is its position as a highway, the highway
between West and East for trade and for culture…In recent generations, culture and trade going
from Europe across Syria to the East” [13]. Along that path, people of all different types are
intermixing and sometimes fighting because of vast differences. It is the constant movement of
people and the changes in types of people where we see trends. It also has to do with the number
of people there are. “The mobility of the population within the country inevitably raises problems
that did not exist in small isolated communities where family and community ties were strong” [14].
This is why the geography of Syria can also be contributed to having an adverse impact on the
state. Leading into minorities emerging in the Middle East.
During the mandate period in Syria, minorities emerged as a development of the nation-state form
[15]. “For some groups within the population, this fixed them in a state structure where they were a
minority; it gave others a sense of belonging to, and the scope for acting as, a ‘majority’ within the
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state” [16].
This caused a constitutional divide between the two groups. The majority ultimately held more
power and was able to claim the representation of the state as a whole. This led the minority to
have limited rights and feelings of the majority [17]. These two groups were created as a result of
the mandate system in Syria. Making a possible connection to the fact that it is possible the
mandate system had some negative impacts on the people in Syria. Figure 3 show how diverse
Syria is from an ethnic standpoint. Many people believe that the reason Syria is so complicated is
because of all these different groups living in the same place.
Overall, the mandate system started because European Powers decided that their colonies were
not "ready" to become independent states. The history of the middle east over time has consisted
of many ups and downs. Many of today's current world peace issues have stemmed out of original
conflicts in the middle east. The region is the birthplace of many religions creating a large selfdivide between the people. Rising conflicts and hatred have led to years of upheaval and extreme
violence. But the fact of the is that there will always be some after effects of the ongoing fights
between sides.
[1] Murray, D. “Fighting Isis: If not now, when?” The Spectator, May 30,
2015. http://ntserver1.wsulibs.wsu.edu:2182/docview/1683578364?accountid=14902 The
Spectator, (accessed January 11, 2016).
[2] The Spectator, May 30, 2015
[3] Kamrava, Mehran. The Modern Middle East a Political History since the First World War. 2nd
ed. (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2011), 9.
[4] Mehran. The Modern Middle East a Political History since the First World War, 9.
[5] SYRIA--Crossroads & Battleground." Time 70, no. 10 (September 2, 1957): 23. Academic
Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed February 5, 2016).
[6] Time 70, no. 10 (September 2, 1957)
[7] K. D. Fieldhouse, Western Imperialism in the Middle East 1914-1958. (Oxford: Oxford University
Press, UK, 2006), 69.
[8] Fieldhouse, Western Imperialism in the Middle East 1914-1958, 348.
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[9] Mehran, The Modern Middle East a Political History since the First World War, 10.
[10] Mehran, The Modern Middle East a Political History since the First World War, 213.
[11] George Antonius, "Syria and the French Mandate," International Affairs (Royal Institute of
International Affairs 1931-1939) 13, 4 (1934): 524.
[12] Antonius, "Syria and the French Mandate," 524.
[13] Antonius, "Syria and the French Mandate," 524.
[14] Alford Carleton, “Syria Today,” International Affairs (Royal Institute of International Affairs
1944-) 30, 1 (1954): 29.
[15] Thomas B. White, The Emergence of Minorities in the Middle East the Politics of Community in
French Mandate Syria (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2011), 209.
[16] White, The Emergence of Minorities in the Middle East the Politics of Community in French
Mandate Syria, 209.
[17] White, The Emergence of Minorities in the Middle East the Politics of Community in French
Mandate Syria, 209.
Illustrations
Figure 1. Independence Flag raised in Aleppo,
1940s, https://sarabiany.wordpress.com/2013/04/17/flag-of-our-forefathers/.
Figure 2. Map of mandate for Syria and Lebanon,
1922,
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4a/French_Mandate_for_Syria_and_the_
Lebanon_map_en.svg/2000px-French_Mandate_for_Syria_and_the_Lebanon_map_en.svg.png.
Figure 3. Syrian ethnic distribution, 2000, http://www.necsi.edu/research/social/syria/map.png.
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