THE SYRIAN WAR: HIDDEN HANDS AND THE CHALLENGES TO PEACE PROCESSES AND CONFLICT MANAGEMENT
Abstract:Perhaps, the war in Syria which began in 2011
can be described as one of the deadliest conflicts in the 21st century. In
attempting to end the war, a number of institutional, regional and global
efforts and initiatives in forms of peace proposals, negotiations, diplomatic
peace initiatives and mediations were put in place. The purpose of this paper
is to examine these peace mechanisms and the factors that act as undercurrents
and/or impediments. It argues that various actors, interests and agendas act as
impediments to the numerous peace processes. And, that the complex intertwines
of internal and external factors are fundamental to the outcome of the various
peace processes and conflict management initiatives. The sordid back stories
and activities of hidden hands such as the United States (US) and Russia using
the war as pawn to fight a proxy battles including the roles of Iran, Turkey,
Saudi Arabia and other groups are the challenges faced by the various peace
processes. It is concluded that though political solution is appropriate
mechanism for solving the quagmire but the influence of exogenous interests and
the complex internal factors which impacts negatively on political diplomacy
may continue for a long time. Therefore, if political approach must work
effectively, there must be consideration for, and synergy among the various domestic
and exogenous interests.