WAR IN SYRIA AND IT’S IMPACT ON REGIONAL AND GLOBAL POLITICAL

RELATIONS AND HUMAN RIGHTS

By Dwight B. Perez

Introduction
The Development of Underdevelopment
Walt W. Rostow’s (1962) dissatisfaction with Karl Marx’s explanation of the evolution of
society and the cause of change therein, compelled him to try another dimension which integrates
the relation of economics to social and political forces in the development of societies.
According to him, growth and development to economic maturity would follow certain
stages such as the traditional society stage; preconditions for take-off’; the takeoff; the drive to
maturity; and finally, the age of high mass consumption. The United States is the first of the
world’s nations to move from maturity into the age of high mass consumption. Rostow emphasized
the significance of technology, and investment in the growth of the economy. This became the
basis of the claim that developing countries, lacking both advanced technology, and capital
investments have to depend on industrialized countries to support their growth (Rostow, 1962).
The linear stages of economic growth theory have been supported by two economists
Harrod and Domar (Todaro 2000, pp. 80-83) which later formulated the Harrod-Domar Growth
Model which basically reemphasized the importance of savings, and investment in the
development of an economy. This position of emphasizing technology, and investments in a
nation’s competitive advantage have also been reiterated by Michael Porter (1990) of Harvard
University.
Rostow’s theory had been questioned by Andre Gunder Frank basically on the fallacy that
the conditions of the development stages of the West such as Great Britain were different as to the
situation of Third World countries who were mostly former colonies, Aidan Foster-Carter (1985)
and Frank argued that in the first place when the west developed, there were no industrialized
countries, Thus, they concluded that the playing field in the world today is not equal due to the
emergence of industrialized countries ahead as strong and powerful competitors in the global
economy. Why is it that there is widespread poverty and homelessness in the underdeveloped
countries such as Syria despite government’s claim of economic growth patterned after Rostow,
Kuznet (1973), and Chenery (1979) which Hunt (1989) coined as the Expanding Capital Nucleus
Paradigm?

Syrian Underdevelopment led to Civil War

Although Syria is an oil-rich country, it still remained as a poor or underdeveloped country.

Many of the Syrians felt that their country was being exploited by industrialized countries such as
Russia and this could have catapulted the war which started in the country.

A peaceful demonstration against the Syrian president seven years ago has turned into a full-
scale civil war. The conflict has left more than 350,000 people dead, devastated cities and drawn
in other countries (BBC News, 2018). As BBC news (2018) reported:
 In March 2011, pro-democracy demonstrations erupted in the southern city of
Deraa, inspired by the "Arab Spring" in neighboring countries. When the
government used deadly force to crush the dissent, protests demanding the
president's resignation erupted nationwide. The unrest spread and the crackdown
intensified. Opposition supporters took up arms, first to defend themselves and later
to rid their areas of security forces. Mr. Assad vowed to crush what he called
"foreign-backed terrorism (BBC News, 2018).”

This war started as a dissatisfaction to economic policies of the Syrian state which resulted
to unemployment and hunger despite its huge oil deposit that enriched some people but majority
of the people were in poverty. Moreover, Syria had been a satellite of Russia for so many years
from 1924 until 1990 but still considered to be controlled by Russia until today
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satellite_state).

Theoretical Constructs/Paradigm
Let us consider the “dependency theory” of Andre GunderFrank (1967) as a framework.
Frank’s approach to development was different from Rostow in the sense that instead of taking
society as a unit of analysis, he saw national economies as structural elements in a global capitalist
system. It is this system, not individual societies, which is the necessary unit of analysis. He
characterizes it as a whole chain of metropolis-satellite relations. This chain links the entire system:
from the ultimate global metropolis which is no one’s satellite (e.g. Latin American cities, which
Frank sees as both exploited by the United States and themselves exploiting their own hinterlands);
right down to the ultimate satellite – e.g. a landless rural laborer, who has nothing and no one to
exploit. In the overall, Frank formulated a number of more specific hypotheses. First, the
development of satellites is limited simply because they are satellites. Development along
metropolitan lines is precisely not possible for satellites, given their subordinate position in the
system. According to Frank (1967), what satellites (like Syria) experience is underdevelopment;
which crucially he redefines as an active process of distortion, characteristic of the relatively
modern fate of the Third World. His second hypothesis states that satellites can only develop when
their ties with the Metropolis are relatively weakened. He concluded that if a country avoid
satellization, self-generating development is possible.
Another related framework that can be used here is the World System Theory (WST) of
Immanuel Wallerstein (1974, 2004). According to the world systems theory, “the world is
divided into three types of countries or areas: core, periphery, and semi-periphery. Core
countries are dominant capitalist countries that exploit peripheral countries for labor and raw
materials. They are strong in military power and not dependent on any one state or country. They
serve the interests of the economically powerful. They are focused on higher skill and capital-
intensive production. Core countries are powerful, and this power allows them to pay lower
prices for raw goods and exploit cheap labor, which constantly reinforces the unequal status
between core and peripheral countries (https://study.com/academy/lesson/world-systems-theory-
core-vs-peripheral-societies.html).”
Impact on Regional/Global Political Relations and Human Rights
The Syrian war would have serious impact on regional/global political relations and
human rights. First of all, economically, it is oil-rich, and thus many countries would have an
interest on it. At the same time, it is located in the Middle East, a very progressive and volatile
region which had the support of major countries. For example, Saudi Arabia and Israel were
known to be allies and satellites of the United States while Syria is known to be a satellite of
Russia. As Sec Antony J. Blinken (2016), US Deputy Secretary of State described the situation
in Syria:

Now in its sixth year, the crisis has destroyed the fabric of life in Syria, killed at
least 400,000 people, triggered the worst human displacement crisis since the end
of World War II, put neighboring countries of first asylum under enormous
pressure, exacerbated regional tensions, and helped swell the ranks of violent
extremist organizations, most notably Daesh and al-Qaeda. The conflict continues
to be fueled by patrons and proxies with divergent interests and priorities at a time
of unprecedented upheaval across the wider Middle East, as governments pursue
new models of political rule and vie for new positions of regional influence. In
short, the Syrian conflict presents one of the most complex challenges we have
faced (Blinkin, 2016).

It is not a joke to tell about 400,000 Syrians who died because of just a mistake of a
government that led to the war. We can only say here that the war in Syria is horrible and sad for
us as a human being. If we look at the implications of regional and global politics, these can easily
start world war three as the players controlling Syria mainly Russia has the overwhelming capacity
to deploy soldiers and weapons which can create great havoc. On the other hand, the United States,
is the most powerful country in the world politically and economically. This was what Wallerstein
(1974, 2004) coined as the Core countries while Syria can be considered as Periphery. Obviously,
the semi-periphery countries in the region could be Saudi Arabia and Israel. It is just like a game
of chess played by the super powers and Syria is a victim of these circumstances. Nevertheless, it
must also be considered that the “Isis” terrorist group developed their base in Syria particularly in
Daesh and this is what made things worse for the country.
In terms of human rights, what can be more worse than killing more than 400,000 human
beings? However, this had not been managed well by the intergovernmental organizations led by
the Human Rights Commission and this resulted to the backing out of Israel from the world body.
However, the commission on Human Rights “developed a reputation for allowing the
participation and even leadership of notorious human rights abusers undermining its legitimacy
( International Institutions and Global Governance Program, 2012).This institution reviews human
rights records of states including those in the United Nations Human Rights Council. Nevertheless,
on the positive side it should be welcomed as it is encouraging accountability, highlighting
progress and states had widely cooperated with them (Ibid). At any rate, to be fair with the Human
Rights council, they can also be credited for minimizing human rights violations as what happened
in Sudan and Libya (Ibid).
The catastrophe of humanity in Syria is growing every day and the financial cost of the conflict
rises every day for the region and even for Europe (Blinken, 2016).

As Blinken stated: “Eighty-one percent of Syria’s population requires humanitarian

assistance. 6.5 million Syrians are displaced in their own country. And 4.8 million Syrians have
fled to neighboring countries—straining the capacity of generous host communities in Turkey,
Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt (Blinken, 2016).” Thus, many Syrians by the millions need
humanitarian help as they were displaced by war and generous host countries in the Middle East
helped in this endeavor. However, the financial cost is growing up as well as the political cost in
the region (Blinken, 2016).

Conclusion

The underdevelopment of nations in the global economy as controlled by the Core countries
led by the United States and other major industrialized countries could lead to civil war as
exemplified by Syria. As this country is oil-rich, many core countries are interested to make it as
its satellite as exemplified by Russia over Syria. The development of terrorism around the world
led by the “Isis” created a new world of war through terrorism and this so happened that |Syria
was chosen as their base. Thus, this led to more problems for Syria which started the war because
of economic reasons such as unemployment and poverty.
The impact for regional/global political relations and human rights of the war in Syria can
never be underestimated as already more than 400,000 people were killed. The non-terrorist
Syrians should be protected by governments as they are considered innocent. The geo-political
location of Syria is very sensitive as it is in the region where major oil producers are located and
some of them can be satellites or peripheries of major countries. If this is not managed well by the
United Nations, this could blow up to very high proportions that could not be imagined. As Blinken
(2016) explains:

Across the region, more than three million children are out of school, and many of
their parents do not have access to legal employment. As a result, refugees are
putting themselves at risk and traveling farther and farther afield in pursuit of a
hope shared by parents the world over: a better future for their children (Blinken,
2016).

As three million children are out of school and parents did not have access to employment,
refugees travelling further were putting themselves at risk as they pursue for happiness and a
better future for their children.
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Websites:
15 March 2018 BBC News. Why is there a war in Syria?
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-35806229

Syrian civil war: Five ways the conflict has changed the world
Sunday 13 March 2016 15:44 GMT
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/syrian-civil-war-isis-how-it-changed-
the-world-refugee-crisis-a6928796.html