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Dennis HarrisSyria Essay Draft
11/10/16
When it comes to global conflicts that are prevalent in our society today the crisis in
Syria is of very valid concern. This conflict can be brought back to decisions made many years
ago stemming from the US’s involvement within Iraq and those events following those critical
decisions. Aside from the US, many other Eastern states have been interacting with Syria, and
for good reason, as they are within close borders of the location and very acceptable to the
proceedings that come with what is happening today. The information gathered from this
particular topic can expanded upon to great length, however, that is not what this writing is
about. Instead, I will be breaking down the Syrian crisis into different prospects pertaining to
international relations regarding the questions; how did this threat come into being, what is the
global threat, how would an actor such as the US respond to this threat, why is this relevant to us
as a nation, and how would different IR theories handle and access this situation as a whole.
Within these posed questions I believe that it is important that I begin by explaining how this
crisis came into being in the first place.
Syria in itself can be a very difficult issue to explain due to its origins and how the
neighboring states interact with it in today’s current events. It becomes even more difficult when
incorporating the group of the (ISIS) Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant into the equation and
their many different followings. You can pull information from all over the web giving reason
as to how this crisis came into being, but given what we have learned so far it can be somewhat
brought back to global intervention. Time and time again, we have learned that not all states can
have a global agreeance on certain topics, especially when discussing issues such as terrorism
and safety, as Weiss stated in his article regarding world governance. This ideology essentially
can be related to our interaction with Iraq somewhere around 2003, and our interaction with the
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11/10/16hopes of stopping the spread of terrorism to other parts of the world after learning about their so
called nuclear weapons that they had obtained. Our intervention was backed by many different
actors as well, such as the UN, which created a common goal of taking down Iraq’s power.
Finally, and most recently, this dissolving of Iraq’s power brought upon the creation of ISIS and
their strive towards dominance as they push towards Syria with force. This is a very vague
breakdown of how ISIS was created, and currently Syria has been the topic of discussion
between many different actors. This series of events relates closely to a domino-like effect that
could be expanded upon for quite a while, however I thought it was of importance to give a very
brief rundown of how ISIS came into being. James Fallows, author on the subject of Iraq and our
interaction, states that a very key point in this history is that the US only decided to move into
Iraq due to the information about the weapons, because they could possibly cause a threat to our
country. We could say that we did it for the good of the other countries, but I believe that it is
very relevant to our society today and how we only seek to keep ourselves safe. We care about
what other countries think about us because it has an effect on how we trade and protect
ourselves, but in the end each country has its own interest in mind. With this in mind, it is
important to wonder how an actor such as the US should respond to this threat, and the
precautions we should take in order to properly protect ourselves as well as the other
surroundings states.
As of now the US is not at war with Syria and has not set forth any major decisions to do
so. However, with the increasing amount of refugees escaping to Iraq, Turkey and France; as
well as the increasing worry of terrorism to be spread even further, it is of importance to both the
surrounding states, as well as those outside of that area to solve this problem as best as they can.
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Dennis HarrisSyria Essay Draft
11/10/16In this day and age, global affairs are a very difficult thing to avoid, regardless if there is an
ocean between you or not, and we have stated before that these decisions effect all actors within
the international world, regardless of where we are located. France is currently at war with ISIS
and is having great difficulties through their use of military action as stated in Karen
Armstrong’s article. Armstrong researched the French President, Hollande’s, ability to handle
the situation regarding Syrian refugees and the impending terrorism that is inflicting locations
within France as of late. However, the use of military action as they have been doing is not
working in their favor; instead Hollande seeks to integrate the Muslim population through
domestic policy, which has yet to show its results. With this in mind, I do not believe that it
would be wise for the US to just sit back and watch Syria and other states be torn apart. If we
want to diffuse the problem I believe that the best way to do so is to work together with the states
that we trust, such as Turkey. This can be tied back to how through the similarity of common
goals, cooperation can lead to success, as Keohane stated (Keohane 39). We are ultimately
working towards the same goal; that being to minimize the spread of terrorism, and through the
use of our resources, it might be possible to achieve this goal. The article we read by Kupchan
refers to the idea that cooperation leads to stability and possibly collective security because of
this “all against one” sort of system. Through unifying our powers, we might be able to work
past the Syrian issues and bring more support to those in need of it. Aside from this, we have
discussed before with the articles and documentaries, such as Kitipovs, regarding Africa and
their process to become more modernized. Kitipov states that the EU had a very difficult time
balancing the policies and goals of the EU and African leaders in order to create a healthy
cooperation (Kitipov 41). However, that cooperation between states is needed especially within
places such as Syria, because without it, it could possibly create more harm than good, as we
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11/10/16have seen before. Through this cooperation, the damages will be minimized and will create very
little room for parties to get upset with one another, hopefully. Government has stated that a
solution to the refugee problems would be to allow Syrians into our country who pass screening
for possible terrorist ties, as stated within DePillis’s Washing Post article. However, I do not
think that this would be the best choice, as seen through France’s problems. As we have seen in
locations such as Paris, it is possible that Syrian refugees have become involved in attacks
towards other countries that they are admitted to. I do not believe that we can risk the danger of
this happening to us, regardless of how self-interested it is. In doing this, it also essentially
avoids the issue and instead moves it into somewhere much closer to home. The idea of sending
troops into Syria is of great debate upon US citizens even today, and although it is a very split
divide, I believe that through the cooperation of states we can ease the troubles of the problems
in Syria. With this in question, it is also very important to understand why this matters to us,
even though Syria is quite a distance away.
Before researching the topic, I always questioned why this crisis affected us in our
position in the world, and Ashley Fantz, author of a CNN article regarding how Syria should
matter to Americans shed some light as to how this might be of importance to us. Fantz talked
about how it could affect our economy through oil and the possibility that terrorism could have
more room to operate if ISIS takes over what they want, but I believe that a big reason as to why
it should matter would be our global reputation as well. As we discussed in class, most countries
care about what others think about them, because it has a direct effect on how we can interact
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11/10/16with one another, and how we are perceived when cooperating in a global environment. If we
are not seen as a country that can work well with others in the global field, then it is highly
unlikely that they will put faith in our decisions, which can be of great concern when discussing
delicate topics such as Syria. Fantz states that we do not have the type of consistency within
foreign policy that most countries depend upon and that can be somewhat worrying to those who
are trying to cooperate with us. This can also be brought up when discussing Russia and their
bombings in Syria. Robert Fisk, states that Russia is bombing locations in Syria trying to locate
“moderates”, that the US has already stated do not exist anymore. Russia has no faith that the
US is correct about this information, so in response to that they follow their own decisions
backed by the Syrian government, instead of doing what is probably best for the state of Syria.
The reputation of the US is of great concern, for even people who reside within the country. As
Lous Proyect states, Kissinger, an American diplomat says that “the U.S. does not have
permanent friends or enemies, only interests” (Provect). It is truly worrying when statements
such as this come up, and can only be seen as a step backwards in the global cooperation field for
the US. As Peet stated, our global space is getting much smaller (Peet 1), and with the
decreasing space to handle affairs it is of importance that we get along with as many people as
we can in order to prosper. To close off the discussion, I believe that it would be of great
importance to get some perspective as to how the three IR theories processed this situation and
how each would handle the threat.
The realist perspective is a very straight forward set of ideas that see things for how they
really are; almost like a pessimistic approach in some ways. In regards to the Syria problem, the
first thing that realists would state is that war is inevitable. This is backed by Mearsheimer’s
idea that there is no natural harmony of interest in the world. Essentially, no two groups work
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11/10/16together to accomplish a common goal, because we are all self-interested and will only seek to
better ourselves. In response to my solution a realist would most likely think that cooperation
would lead to failure because states will not want to cooperate unless they benefit directly from
the operation they handle. Border states of Syria would gain the safety and economic benefits,
and the US would gain the economic benefits, and reputation. We are working towards these
goals, and perhaps a realist would believe that we are using other actors in order to obtain these
benefits.
In contrary to the realist perspective, a liberal would be more so interested in cooperation
between institutions and the ability to communicate between organizations. This would directly
coincide with my theory and support the idea that international systems create opportunities for
cooperation. Keohane, in response to Mearshemer’s theory of realism, responds claiming that
cooperation promotes lasting peace, but is not always necessary in some situations, and has the
ability to be viable if the two states have common interest (Keohane 39). As we have discussed
before working together in Syria would be in most state’s common interest because of the harm
that can be stemmed from the crisis if not resolved through cooperation.
Finally, a constructivist would most likely question why Syria is in this position in the
first place. As I have stated before in the beginning of the discussion, Syria’s problems were, in
a way, a product of previous issues that arose within the area around it. Wendt, states that
anarchy is what we make it, and that states exist within a world of their own making, as seen in
Syria. We may have added to the problem, but the initial problems made way for global
problems that set the entire world in fear.
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Dennis HarrisSyria Essay Draft
11/10/16Syria in itself is a very complex topic to discuss, and has many factors as to how it got
into the way it is today. With this being true, it is important to realize that the issues that are
taking place out East have very important significance and have the ability to affect us globally,
economically, and militarily. However, through the use of cooperation and common interest we
could possibly have the ability to lessen the problems and create a safer location for those states
that border Syria as well as Syrian citizens themselves sometime within the near future.
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Dennis HarrisSyria Essay Draft
11/10/16Citations
Wendt, A. (1992) Anarchy is what States Make of it: The Social Construction of Power Politics. International Organization, vol. 46, n.2, pp. 391-425
Theory in Action: Constructivism (Caleb Gallemore) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYU9UfkV_XI
Theory in Action: Realism (Randall Schweller) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnKEFSVAiNQ
Theory in Action: Liberalism (J.D. Bowen) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZbDMUaqwE8
Charles A. Kupchan and Clifford A. Kupchan, “ Concerts, Collective Security, and the Future of Europe,” International Security, Vol. 16, No. 1 (1991), pp. 114-144/United Nations Charter (http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/un/unchart.htm)
Peet, “The World Bank,” pp. 127-177
Weiss, T.G. (2000). What Happened to the Idea of World Government? International Studies Quaterly, vol. 53, pp. 253-271
Unit Review: Keohane, R. O. (1988) International Institutions: Two Approaches. International Studies Quarterly, vol.32, n.4, pp. 379-396
John Mearsheimer, “The False Promise of International Institutions,” International Security, Vol. 19, No. 3 (1994)
Kitipov, J. (2012). African Integration and inter-regionalism: the regional economic communities and their relationship with the European Union, Strategic review for southern Africa, vol. 34, pp. 21-44.
https://theweek.com/articles/589924/brief-history-isis
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2013/09/05/three-big-ways-the-u-s-could-help-syrians-without-using-the-military/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/11/17/were-syrian-refugees-involved-in-the-paris-attacks-what-we-know-and-dont-know/
http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/10/world/syria-why-care/
http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2015/11/spread-wahhabism-and-west-s-responsibility-world
http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/11/06/why-obama-did-not-make-war-on-syria/
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/05/the-right-and-wrong-questions-about-the-iraq-war/393497/
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11/10/16http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/syria-s-moderates-have-disappeared-and-there-are-no-good-guys-a6679406.html
http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2015/11/spread-wahhabism-and-west-s-responsibility-world
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