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> There are probably about a dozen major causes of the problems in Syria, of which US/western involvement is only one. Can we get a few examples?

by iak8god 10y ago

jcranmer 10y ago
* The failure of the Ottoman Empire to create a unified culture and nation state. * Religious rivalry between Sunni and Shiite Islam. * Regional rivalry between Saudi Arabia (an autocratic Sunni state heavily reliant on a very conservative sect (Wahhabi) for legitimacy) and Iran (a theocratic Shiite state). * Oil being the main economic mainstay, and not being conveniently divvied up among different ethnic regions * Great power ambitions on the part of Turkey * Superpower ambitions on the part of Russia * The failure of any state in the region to produce viable governments with strong internal legitimacy, rather than series of political "revolutions" that led to changing merely of who was treating the state as their feeding trough * Western engagement in the region * Western disengagement in the region (damned if you do, damned if you don't...) I'm probably missing some, but it's worth noting that while the Iraq War didn't help the situation in the Middle East, it's not like a strong dictator is an effective guarantee of internal security--after all, the Arab Spring started in Tunisia, instigated primarily by local causes (and the only country that seems to have actually improved its situation as a result!).
- iak8god 10y ago
  Thank you. I do think many of those things are themselves caused by Western meddling in the region, but mostly before the US got into the game.
- FreedomToCreate 10y ago
  This comment should be at the top. So many westerners who bash their own governments, communities and beliefs without any real knowledge of the situations and what caused them.
wmil 10y ago
* Unsustainable population growth By 2012 the population of Syria had doubled since 1986, despite massive emigration. A huge chunk of the country was under 30. This lead to problems with employment, housing, water, food, etc. Which in tern led to escalating sectarian tensions.

> There are probably about a dozen major causes of the problems in Syria, of which US/western involvement is only one. Can we get a few examples?

by iak8god 10y ago

> There are probably about a dozen major causes of the problems in Syria, of which US/western involvement is only one. Can we get a few examples?

jcranmer 10y ago

* The failure of the Ottoman Empire to create a unified culture and nation state. * Religious rivalry between Sunni and Shiite Islam. * Regional rivalry between Saudi Arabia (an autocratic Sunni state heavily reliant on a very conservative sect (Wahhabi) for legitimacy) and Iran (a theocratic Shiite state). * Oil being the main economic mainstay, and not being conveniently divvied up among different ethnic regions * Great power ambitions on the part of Turkey * Superpower ambitions on the part of Russia * The failure of any state in the region to produce viable governments with strong internal legitimacy, rather than series of political "revolutions" that led to changing merely of who was treating the state as their feeding trough * Western engagement in the region * Western disengagement in the region (damned if you do, damned if you don't...) I'm probably missing some, but it's worth noting that while the Iraq War didn't help the situation in the Middle East, it's not like a strong dictator is an effective guarantee of internal security--after all, the Arab Spring started in Tunisia, instigated primarily by local causes (and the only country that seems to have actually improved its situation as a result!).

iak8god 10y ago
Thank you. I do think many of those things are themselves caused by Western meddling in the region, but mostly before the US got into the game.
FreedomToCreate 10y ago
This comment should be at the top. So many westerners who bash their own governments, communities and beliefs without any real knowledge of the situations and what caused them.

wmil 10y ago

* Unsustainable population growth By 2012 the population of Syria had doubled since 1986, despite massive emigration. A huge chunk of the country was under 30. This lead to problems with employment, housing, water, food, etc. Which in tern led to escalating sectarian tensions.