Understanding Syrian Political Movements to United States Foreign Policy
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Syracuse University SURFACE Syracuse University Honors Program Capstone Syracuse University Honors Program Capstone Projects Projects Summer 8-9-2017 Proxy Conflict urnedT Civil Crisis: Understanding Syrian Political Movements to United States Foreign Policy Katherine Barymow Follow this and additional works at: https://surface.syr.edu/honors_capstone Part of the Other Political Science Commons Recommended Citation Barymow, Katherine, "Proxy Conflict urnedT Civil Crisis: Understanding Syrian Political Movements to United States Foreign Policy" (2017). Syracuse University Honors Program Capstone Projects. 992. https://surface.syr.edu/honors_capstone/992 This Honors Capstone Project is brought to you for free and open access by the Syracuse University Honors Program Capstone Projects at SURFACE. It has been accepted for inclusion in Syracuse University Honors Program Capstone Projects by an authorized administrator of SURFACE. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 1 © (Katherine Barymow 2017) 2 Abstract The Syrian crisis in terms of its crimes against humanity has surpassed most politicians’ wildest expectations: it seems that with every passing news cycle the west is informed of new atrocities commited against innocent Syrian civilians, in addition to violence perpetrated by Syrian Islamists themselves against westerners in ill-advised cries for help. The extent of bloodshed can be both horrifying and mystifying to the average American. How is it possible that the international community allows these crimes to proliferate and self-perpetuate in this modern day-in-age? Hearts sink with every image of a child in dire straights as a result of this man-made catastrophe, with more organizations donating to the Syrian plight than ever before; however, westerners to a very valid extent are starting to believe that they are throwing pennies down an endless abyss of despair and irrepaiable damage to the Syrian people, political system and urban fabric. Even relatively uninformed Americans are becoming more engaged in political proceses as a result of the terror and destruction witnessed in left and right-leaning media alike. We now find ourselves in a place where we identify with each other through an intersectional humanity: a deep and unrelenting search for answers and relief in an impossible crisis. What possibly could have caused such deep distress between Syrians, their government, Islamist organizations and international actors alike that caused the situation to devolve to such bloodshed? To what extent are superpowers really contributing to the reparation of the Syrian quandary, and perhaps more importantly, to what extent are superpowers responsible for this state of affairs? In a sense, it can be difficult to objectively point a finger at one’s self for another human’s pain, let alone an entire nationality. For this reason, this capstone will employ a strict methodology of historical, case study analysis to understand varying view-points in what epitomizes a mutli- faceted conflict. Through the collection of these various threads of research, from Arab and American authors alike, we begin to decipher overlapping historical narratives that share a story of unique, complex interconnections in policy applications of the United States towards the Arab world as a result of dogmatic developments that determine a web of superpower diplomacy applied with respect to one another, as well as various political pawns throughout the developing world. In the case of Syria as a case study, we see that the dogmatic developments between the United States and the French, Soviets and Saudis not only dictated their own relations, but truly molded political discourse with respect to Syria and their own domestic revalations. Since the fall of the Ottoman era and the conception of Syria, the United States has formed Syrian international and domestic policies through its proxy relationships with France, Great Britain, the Soviet Union and Saudi Arabia. These relations, categorized by three eras of American foreign policy, correspond closely with the development of the Syrian crisis in a narrative that depicts it as a situation over a century in the making. The various evidence, either in the form of testimonials, policy decisions and legislation alike, can begin to offer Americans some insight into the way the United States has failed the Syrian people, and more optimistically, point to opportunities for productive engagement. As painful as these stories may be, they are crucial to the development of superpower diplomacy towards Syria, as well as developing nations in the Arab world and developing nations alike to prevent a crisis like this from forming again as a result of short-sighted strategy. 3 Executive Summary One of the blaring difficulties of the Syrian civil crisis is the complex nature of its various interwoven proxy-relationships with respect to world powers and developing nations alike. This can paint a convoluted picture for non-expert and expert audiences alike, and for this reason the capstone includes an executive summary to define the project in terms that work towards clarifying the problem, variables, description, methods, argument and significance of the project. The problem we witness today with respect to the Syrian civil crisis is that we struggle to identify an objective set of variables that explain the unusual extent of complexity and suffering on the part of Syrians as a result of proxy superpower conflict. In this case, we will identify superpowers as the former Soviet Union (Russia), United States, France, Britain, Saudi Arabia, etc. In many cases the author will reference western nations, which will not include the Soviet Union for the sake of clarity, as the Soviet Union mainly stood at odds with other broadly defined western nations during the Cold War period, as well as the decades immediately preceeding and proceeding this era encapsulated by the first and third constructed historical narratives. In order to construct the three narratives, we will distill our analysis to include the comparison of one superpower with repsect to its counterparts: in this case, the United States. The United State’s foreign relationships with superpowers will be described with respect to three dogmatic periods, relating to theories of [1] Wilsonian initiative with respect to democratizing nations, [2] Cold War Policy, more specitifically anti-communist proliferation rising out of the Soviet Union, and [3] the self-described war on globalizing terror perpetrated by Islamist groups. The United States narratives will be described with respect to the revelations of Syrian politics, notably periods that correspond very closely with the three foreign policy initiatives employed by the United States. The description of the application of these three theories with respect to 4 Syrian domestic and international politics will help us understand how Syria came to witness a cycle of [1] the rise of nationalist (Wilsonian) sentiment, [2] the rise of (anti-communist) Islamic policy and Islamist movements within Syria, and [3] the fall of and branded Islamic regime and fight against Islamist movements that would tear the country apart. Readers will begin to understand how the connections between American dogmatic movements and its reprecussions on Syria do not simply cancel each other out; they work to tear down the developing country with every practical development they seem to accomplish. Understanding these entangements allows readers to understand the various misteps that world powers, in this case the United States with respect to its peers, took to rectify various western political ailments at the expense of developing nations, particularly Syria. Debate surrounding the causes of the Syrian crisis is relatively polarized and defined by democratic and republican rhetoric in the American media; however, Americans are beginning to identify with the idea that the destruction of Syria was not self-inflicted, but rather the working of various international forces at odds with one another on a proxy platform that happened to be identified as the underdeveloped, and therefore politically malleable Arab country. The issue of understanding the roots of Syrian conflict is not at its heart a democratic or republican issue: it finds its roots in decades’ and even centuries’ old political misteps that came to define the unapproachable and devolving state of United States diplomacy with respect to Syria. In order to understand the ways in which the United States can move forward to mediate the situation and begin true reparations, we must find it within our superiority complex to seize the opportunity to self-reflect on our destructive proxy policies and open new pathways towards peaceful negotiation and resolution. Innocent Syrians will not have the opportunity to look towards a brighter future until we take it upon ourselves to identify the misteps crushing their future. 5 Table of Contents Abstract……………………………………….…………………………………….. 2 Executive Summary………………………….……………….……………....…….. 3 Chapter 1: Introduction ……………………………………………………...… 6 Background…………………………………………………………………… 6 Argument and Theory……………………………………. ……………….…. 7 Three Historical Narratives………………………………………………….. 11 Chapter 2: Historical Narrative I: Wilsonian Diplomacy in Syria…………………………………………………………………...….. 12 French Divide and Rule ………………………………………………..….... 12 The French Mandate in American Politics…………………………………... 19 WWI and its Aftermath…………………………………………………...…. 21 Chapter 3: Historical