The effects of Syria's ethnic-religious structure on political history and civil war

Tensions arising from differences based on identity have an important place among the basic motivation factors that mobilize the parties in the internal conflicts in various regions on the world. Accordingly, in Syria where many different ethnic and religious identities live, it is a matter of debate in what way and to what extent this diversity has affected the political history of the country and the civil war in the country. Although it is not true to explain the civil war entirely through these dynamics, the polarization between ethnic and religious identities in the country in the modern historical process shaped Syria's 20th century history, and the policy of French administrators in the mandate period to recruit power over minorities has also led to the emergence of a minority power in the country in the long term. Deprived of a wide range of social legitimacy, the Nusayri minority government of the Assad family has ruled the country in a rather authoritarian manner, devoid of any democratic basis for more than forty years. During this period, all kinds of pressure and violence policies have been applied against the social components that constitute the majority in the country by using all the power devices of the state. This intimidation policy has not prevented the formation of an effective opposition in the country, and on the contrary, it has caused an internally growing anger in the society. The civil war that broke out in 2011 is the result of this anger buildup. In this study, the shaping effect of the conflicts arising from ethnic and religious differences in Syria on the political history of the country and its role in the onset of the civil war has been investigated and whether or not these differences are among the basic motives that mobilize the parties during the civil war process have been examined. According to the research findings, it is seen that the ethnic and religious differences in the country are one of the fundamental factors that shape the modern political history of the country, and when the positions of the parties in the lines of conflict are examined, they play a determining role in the beginning of the civil war. Considering the statements in the radicalizing phases of the civil war, it has been seen that the initial expectations of democratic transformation were abandoned to propaganda based on sectarian warfare. In conclusion, contrary to popular belief, the Arab Spring or the purely authoritarian nature of the regime in Syria are not the only factors in the emergence of the war in the country. As of the beginning, the Syrian Civil War is the result of the polarization based on identity in the country for many years and the majority of the society oppressed under the dictatorship of a minority, expressing their demands based on violence when the appropriate conjuncture is formed for them.