Geopolitical and Strategic Causes and Implications of the Syrian Civil War and the Refugee Crisis

Autores

  • Andrzej Podraza Director of the Institute of Political Science and International Affairs and the head of the Chair of International Relations at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Catholic University of Lublin. Author of a number of books and articles on European integration, international security, transatlantic relations, Central and Eastern Europe.

Resumo

This article analyze the war in Syria in geopolitical terms and as a humanitarian catastrophe. Its significance goes beyond merely its regional dimension. There are many different causes of the Syrian conflict, including its colonial past, the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War, the American invasion of Iraq in 2003, the sectarian polarisation and radicalization of Syria and Iraq and the West’s lukewarm response to the “Arab Spring”. Finding a solution to the conflict in Syria is not an easy task, due to the involvement of various global and regional powers in a proxy war, such as the United States, Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia or Turkey, and due to the extraordinary brutality of the Syrian regime. The Syrian war has triggered the worst humanitarian disaster since the Second World War. The refugee crisis leads to the destabilization of the Middle East and affects Europe as the desired destination.

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Publicado

2024-09-30

Edição

N.º 149 (2018): Europe and Refugees

Secção

Artigos