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

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Date
2018-05-24
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Instituto da Defesa Nacional
Abstract
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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Keywords
the Syrian Civil War, international relations of the Middle East, the "Arab Spring", the refugee crisis, the European Union
Citation
"Nação e Defesa", 2018, nr 149, s. 69-87.
ISBN