Syria: The Tragedy of a Pivotal State

310 Pages·2020·6.806 MB·English

by  Rajendra M. Abhyankar

Syria
The Tragedy of a Pivotal State
Rajendra M. Abhyankar
Syria
“If you want to better understand the importance and complexity of Syria,
this is your volume to read and to study. In plain, clear language, Ambassador
Rajendra Abhyankar provides the reader unmatched information, understanding
and insight into this fascinating and pivotal country.”
—US Congressman Lee H. Hamilton, Honoree of the Hamilton Lugar School of
Global and International Studies, Indiana University, Bloomington
“Well regarded scholar diplomat Rajendra Abhyankar deserves commendation
for his comprehensive delineation of the almost unfathomable complexities of
thechangingdynamicsofthewarinSyriainhisveryaptlytitledbookSyria:The
Tragedy of a Pivotal State. A recommended read.”
—Indian Ambassador Ranjit Gupta
“Syria:The Tragedy of a PivotalState bya polyglot seasoneddiplomat, Rajendra
M. Abhyankar, India’s former Ambassador to Syria, is a meticulously researched
andbalancedanalysisofthecomplexitiesofanewphenomenon,the21stcentury
endless wars by invitation, which are challenging the very core of UN-based
international order. Ambassador Abhyankar cogently unpacks layer upon layers
of ill-will and deception—by individuals, extremist groups and nations, near and
far—which have turned a peaceful local uprising in Syria eight years ago against
murderous Assad regime, into tragic battle ground in pursuit of rotten self-
servinginterestsandglobalambitions.Syriaisasoberingaccountofthecausesof
devastationofapivotalstateandsociety.Itoffersapragmaticfuturepoliticalmap
and humanitarian and reconstruction scenarios to end the war. Clearly written,
richly documented, fast paced, succinct, timely, a must read for understanding
the root causes of the endless mayhem in the Middle East, especially resolution
of the Syrian conflict.”
—M. Nazif Mohib Shahrani, Ph.D., Professor of Anthropology, Central Asian
and Middle Eastern Studies, Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International
Studies, Indiana University, Bloomington
“If reconstructing Syria, as we know since the end of the Second World War, is
impossible,howdidwegethere?Withdetailsandlucidity,AmbassadorRajendra
MAbhyankaroffersagripping,non-polemical,andnon-partisanoutsiderviewof
the pivotal state, its seemingly endless crises, and its more troublesome future.”
—Professor P. R. Kumaraswamy, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Rajendra M. Abhyankar
Syria
The Tragedy of a Pivotal State
Rajendra M. Abhyankar
School of Public and Environmental Affairs
Indiana University Bloomington
Bloomington, IN, USA
ISBN 978-981-15-4561-0 ISBN 978-981-15-4562-7 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-4562-7
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An Endless War Challenges the International Order
for
Paulomi
Preface
My connection with Syria continued almost throughout my diplomatic
career and I retain an abiding interest in the country and its people.
The evolution of the endless civil war, with its twists and turns, became
a fascinating subject of study. The country retains a unique character
that impinges on every facet of international relations today. Yet it goes
beyond.
Syria, situated in the Mesopotamian basin, has nurtured three reli-
gions—Judaism,ChristianityandIslam—possessingholyplacesandland-
marksofallthree.Itisthusapartoftheuniversalheritageofhumankind.
Going back into antiquity, Syria is one of the most ancient inhabited
regionsonEarth.TracesofhumancivilizationinSyriagobacktoroughly
700,000 years. Over the ages, Syria has provided a fertile ground for
outside powers to settle their differences. What was then, we see now
with four of five permanent UN Security Council and all major regional
powers enmeshed in the civil war.
My interest in Syria started in 1992 when I was posted to Damascus
as the Indian Ambassador. After having spent three years in Iraq, I was
interested and excited at the thought of living and working in another
Arab country. Little did I realise the great difference between the two
countries. While Iraqis are the Prussians of the Arab world, the Syrians
are the Belgians!
In nearly four years in Syria I was exposed to every aspect of the
country, above all, their facility in assimilating influences from across the
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x PREFACE
seas and making them their own. No wonder, since they are the worthy
successors of the Levantines of old.
I continued my interest in Syria even after completing my diplomatic
tenure in Damascus. As Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs
from 2001 to 2004, once again India’s relations with Syria became part
of my territorial remit. I was invited, long after retiring from service,
in November 2011 to Damascus by the Syrian government. It was six
months since the Arab revolution had hit Syria and among the first to
provoke a violent response from the government. In April 2012, I again
visitedDamascusandHoms,bywhentheSyriangovernmenthadignited
a full-scale insurgency. It was following my visits to Damascus in May
2017 and May 2019 that I started this book project.
Syria is unique on many counts. It is the only country still wedded
to the political ideology of Arab Ba’ath Socialism with its tenets of Arab
unity, Arab solidarity and socialism. Iraq until 2002 was the other. Not
surprisingly, with two dictators ruling in both—Hafez Assad and Saddam
Hussein—inevitably there were differences even within this majority of
two!
Yet as an Indian, I found the clear separation of religious authority
fromtheauthorityofstatetheBa’athistideology’smostattractivefeature.
Along with it went women’s’ empowerment with Syrian women working
in all branches of government, industry and trade.
Syria today remains the only country in the Middle East still wedded
tothisidealandthereasonsarenotfartoseek.IthasconsolidatedSyria’s
reputation as the only country in the Middle east where minorities, both
Muslimandnon-Muslim,canliveinpeaceandenjoytheirrights.Syriaisa
multi-confessionalstate:inadditiontoSunniandShiaMuslims,thereare
Alawites, Orthodox and other Christian confessions, Druze, and Kurds.
In the interests of the Middle East’s diverse populations, we need to
preserve this rarity.
The long running civil war has completed nine years with Bashar
Assad having asserted, aided by Russian and Iranian military muscle, his
authority over most of his country, except the province of Idlib. In so
doing,hehasestablishedhisindispensabilityinanyfuturepoliticaldispen-
sation. At the same time, Russian and Iranian political and military role
in Assad’s battleground success has created for them long-term interests
that could make it difficult for Assad to assert his will.
Even more serious problems need to be faced starting with creating
conditions for return of the five million refugees abroad and nearly six
PREFACE xi
milliondisplacedwithinthecountry.WhetherAssadwillbeabletosecure
the required funding for these monumental tasks remains moot.
Syria has yet to emerge from its civil war even though the end game
has started. Yet its continuing instability has provoked Turkey to seek
its interest by invading the country. The situation remains fraught. It is
unlikely that Turkey will emerge unscathed from this operation while it
prolongs the agony of the Syrian people. Former Iraqi prime minister,
Haideral-AbadipertinentlyremarkedthatifSyriadisintegratesthewhole
area will be under threat.
Intheend,theWesterncountrieschoseexpediencyinlabellingBashar
Assad illegitimate closing off any opportunity for a finding a workable
solutiontotheSyriancrisis.Itcreatedaparadoxicalsituationinwhichthe
Western champions of democracy saw Russiadefendingthe UN principle
of non-intervention to an impotent United Nations Security Council.
Truly,Syriaalwayswas,andremains,pivotaltothefutureoftheMiddle
Eastandoftheinternationalsystem.Ihopethisbooksucceedstoconvey
this sense.
Mumbai Rajendra Abhyankar
January 2020
Acknowledgments
‘The scariest moment is always just before you start’ so wrote Stephen
King, the famous novelist. How much more scarier is it when you have
embarked on writing on a subject that is constantly in motion—that is a
reallivestory.ThatwasmysituationasIstarted,inthesummerof2018,
to write this book, after some false starts, on the tragedy that Syria has
become. Moreover, a situation that continues to evolve after eight years.
In getting ahead with my book, I have counted on a number of insti-
tutions and people who have been a constant support. I start with the
O’NeillSchoolofPublicandEnvironmentalAffairsatIndianaUniversity
where I have been teaching since 2012. My grateful thanks go to John
Graham, the former Dean, who was always supportive of my academic
endeavours. I also thank Michael McGuire who as the former Executive
AssociateDeangavemehistimeandassistanceasIneeded.Iparticularly
refer to the excellent research assistants that were available to me as part
of the School’s support.
TheO’NeillSchoolisaremarkableinstitution—atthenationallevel—
withanoutstandingfaculty.Inmyview,itsfacultyisitmostprizedposses-
sion.Afriendlybodyofgreatacademicsalwayswillingtohelp.Iconsider
myself fortunate in belonging to such an institution situated as it is in
Bloomington, a haven of cosmopolitanism.
I thank the Islamic Studies Program at Indiana University, where I
am adjunct faculty, for financial help to support travel to the concerned
countries for research for the book and to help with the publication and
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