Syria Past and Present

Abstract

The internal situation in Syria during the first four years of conflict resembles a kaleidoscope showing a different picture every minute. Individual elements keep changing their places, some lose their meaning, others take more space, some disappear completely, and new ones take their place. Perhaps this view does not change from day to day, but it surely changes from month to month, and an inexperienced observer may soon be lost in the mass of new information and changing names. The present text aims to present a short review of the situation during the Syrian civil war. The present conflict has its roots deep in the past and in order to understand it one needs to go back in time and describe – even if superficially – the history of Syria since it gained its independence. Its earlier history is, of course, also fascinating, yet if one does not want to be forced to write a book on the five thousand years of Syrian history, it seems fitting to refer the reader to other works on the subject. Therefore, the first part of the present draft will focus on the historical background of the current conflict, and the second part will concern the course of the conflict since its outbreak in 2011 through July 2015.