Security Issues Of The Arab Spring Movement - 2310 Words

Security Issues in Syria This essay will examine how festering and fermenting animosity between Sunni and Shia factions in the region embroils issues of food security and human security with the security issues found in conflict generally. Security is a looking-glass that puts different things as priorities for whomever in question is looking. The security concerns of Bashar al-Assad are different to those of the Free Syrian Army, Jabhat al-Nusra or the Islamic State. While these actors- and there are more than just those three- are actively engaged in conflict with fiscal and military support from NATO, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Russia security issues will blossom for civilians in the region and globally. There is a long and complex history†¦show more content†¦The Alawite Assad family has based its power for more than four decades on the solid loyalty of its religious bloc in a loose alliance with Christians, Druze, and, sometimes, one or more of the other smaller, ethnic groups. A prominent feature of the 2011–12 rebellion is a largely Sunni Arab bid to overthrow that â€Å"coalition of minorities† regime. (Carpenter, 2013: 1-2) One cannot talk about Syria without talking about the region as a whole. Since the end of the Cold War three Western led ground operations in the Middle East have been added massive strain to societies still recovering from centuries of colonialism and the authoritarian regimes that followed the colonial era. Western interference and intervention did not cease with the independence of nation-states in the region as the numerous wars and propping up of authoritarian regimes since 1945 can attest to. The establishment of the Israeli state following World War Two has caused multiple conflicts in the region, as have longstanding animosity between Iran and Arab nations and the Iran-Iraq war. Resource Wars and Post-Colonialism Resource wars are violent conflicts fought over vital materials, the Middle East region contains some of the largest producers of petroleum and natural gas, the market for these resources however is global. As energy security forms a core part of the national