The Syrian Civil War

Syria today, is torn by a major civil war and apparently without the prospect of peaceful solution. This civil war is an offshoot of the Arab Spring, the widespread protests which began in Tunisia 2010 and spread across the region. The research for this thesis focuses on the Asad–regime and especially on the regime under current presidency of Bashar al-Asad and its roots in his predecessor’s regime. Through the civil war it became clear that relations between various societal groups, especially religious groups, were under a lot of pressure. A change in interreligious relations can be traced back to 1970, when Hafez al-Asad came to power. Although the Ba’th party aimed towards a secular Syrian state, religious affiliation has a role in Syrian political culture, on an informal or implicit level. The Asad–regime and the development of Syria in politics, economics and in its stance towards the international community, and the impact this had on interreligious relations will be the main focus of this thesis. The main conclusion of this thesis is that the Syrian regime and its development since 1963 can never be intentionally linked to sectarian policies nor can the alliances with Iran and Hezbollah. Sectarian policies are never explicitly or formally executed, it is however, often an implicit result of Syrian formal policies and, especially since 2000, and has become apparent.