Nationalism
is a complex term, often considered equivalent to the word patriotism. However,
while the two terms share some similarities, they are fairly different
concepts. Patriotism is considered a strong pride, love, support, or general
emotional attachment to one’s nation or homeland, and can be compared with
national pride. Nationalism, on the other hand, is not defined by state
borders. According to Dictionary.com, nationalism is the “belief that a people
who share a common language, history, and culture should constitute an
independent nation, free of foreign domination”. Therefore, it is possible to
have multiple groups feel nationalist pride within the borders of a single
nation state. Zakaria says nationalism is “a tension that is likely to define
the next decades”, and when looking at the current situation in Syria, where
there are a number of ethnic and religious groups fighting each other over the
future of their country, it is easy to see where he gets this idea.
 |
| Map of Control throughout Syria as of September 2015 |
Syria is
currently four years strong into its civil war. The war began in 2011 after
protests were met with violence at the hands of the state regime headed by Bashar
Al-Assad, and has since garnered participation from several groups into the
fight. The first group to begin fighting in the war was the Free Syrian Army,
created by seven defected Syrian officers who took issue with the security
forces attacking civilians. There are also several rebel groups participating
in the war. One major player fighting alongside of the opposition is the
Islamic Front, which was formed in 2013 by the merger of seven different groups
into one united front seeking to establish an Islamic state ruled by sharia law.
Another rebel group often fighting alongside the opposition is the Al-Nusra
Front, which is considered the largest jihadist group in Syria.
Al-Nusra is recognized as a terrorist organization by both the Syrian and
United States governments, and has strong ties to al-Qaeda. Near the end of
2012, the Shiite Muslim militant group based out of Lebanon, Hezbollah, also
joined the fight, taking the side of their long-time ally, Bashar Al-Assad. But
the most powerful rebel group in the fight is considered to be the Islamic
State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS). Since entering the conflict in 2013, ISIS
has made large military gains and now controls over 50% of the land and about
40% of the Syrian population.
As you can tell, Syria’s civil war is full of actors with different ideas of
what the country should be, and are willing to fight to achieve their goals. In
my eyes, the willingness of so many groups to participate in this conflict
demonstrates the amount of nationalism felt in the area, as well as the divisiveness
over their ideal views of the state.
These
four years of war have caused hundreds of thousands of deaths, irreparable
damage to priceless historic sites, destruction of entire cities, and displaced
millions of people. Unsurprisingly, the Syrian economy has suffered drastically
as well. This is well represented in Syria’s GDP. According to the Syrian
Center for Policy Research’s March 2014 Alienation and Violence Report,
it is estimated that, had the conflict not happened, the Syrian GDP would have
risen by 29% from 2010 to 2014. However, that is not the case, and Syrian GDP
has fallen an accumulated total of 229% in the same time frame. Zakaria claims
Syria “operate(s) largely outside the global economy and thus (has)
less to lose by making trouble.” But this doesn’t seem to be the case,
especially for the citizens of Syria, who have lost a whole lot. Pre-war
unemployment rates were under 10%, but have skyrocketed since the conflict
began, now sitting just under 60%.
Oil production in the country has plummeted as well, by about 97%. But perhaps
the biggest consequence for Syrian citizens has been displacement, with an
estimated 11 million people, or over half the Syrian population, having become
refugees or been internally displaced since 2011, with more than half of the
refugee population being children who are now without access to an education. The
civil war has set the Syrian economy back decades, and with the youth
population now becoming less literate and less educated than their prior
populations, the eventual recovery seems quite far away. |
| Syrian children pose for a picture in the Za'atari Refugee Camp in Za'atari, Jordan. |
No comments:
Post a Comment