Amidst the recent collapse of the Assad regime in Syria, community members at Lincoln sought to highlight the importance of learning about the political history of the nation.
Lincoln IB History and TOK teacher Rebecca Eisenberg was surprised to notice little awareness of the regime’s collapse.
“I haven’t noticed much [engagement], which is interesting given how active we are in social justice. I’m surprised there hasn’t been more interest in it,” said Eisenberg.
Students’ lack of engagement also relates to a global trend concerning current affairs worldwide. Lincoln IB History and IB Global Politics teacher Christopher Buehler outlined the discouraging reality of current news coverage surrounding the recent collapse.
“It hasn’t just been about this case study. I don’t think it’s just the Lincoln community, but society at large,” said Buehler. “A lot of people read a headline [but] never really spend time to inquire further. It’s just the nature of the way we consume media sources today.”
The Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria collapsed in December. This came as a result of an offensive led by several actors. According to the Arab Center Washington DC, the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) faction and the Turkish-funded Syrian National Army (SNA) were the two main groups spearheading this operation.
Buehler outlines the momentum that allowed the HTS and SNA to take over Syria. The government is based in the capital city of Damascus, and once the opposition had taken control, it forced Assad and his family to flee.
“[HTS] moved very rapidly up in the north, quickly moved to Damascus, and took over. Assad was deposed and fled and went to Russia,” said Buehler.
The former Ba’athist government of Syria, led by Assad, was backed by Russia, which supplied them militarily with arms and equipment.
Additionally, the collapse of the Assad regime put an end to the larger civil war occurring in Syria since 2011 between the national government and rebel groups. States including Turkey and Iran have been involved, as well as non-state actors such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS). The civil war has caused millions of Syrians to seek refuge and flee to countries like Greece, while others remain internally displaced.
Buehler emphasizes the effects of the vacated seat of power.
“There’s been a lot of hardship in Syria, both with the sanctions [imposed by other countries] and with the war. Normal civilians have been suffering under the Assad regime, [and now] this power structure that’s been there is now gone,” said Buehler.
Eisenberg agrees and outlines the devastating consequences the conflict in Syria has caused.
“Syria severely destabilized the Middle East, especially during the civil war. Half of the country was displaced. On a humanitarian scale, it’s catastrophic,” said Eisenberg.
After the fall of the Assad regime, millions in Syria and around the world celebrated, and, according to Al Jazeera, more than 30,000 displaced Syrians have begun returning to their homes.
However, according to the Council on Foreign Relations, many are worried that HTS will impose an authoritarian Sunni Islamist government. Yet, for now, political uncertainty remains constant while Syrians grapple with hopes and fears.
(Timeline was created using information from Al Jazeera and Council on Foreign Relations.)