The Weak Process of Nation-State Building in Syria and the Civil War (2011-2016)

Most countries emerging after the collapse of Ottoman Empire, among them Syria, have faced weakness in the process of nation-state building, a fact that has caused their fragility in the last century. Meanwhile, the geopolitics of this country has brought it into focus for great regional and international powers. In Syria, despite the diversity of ethnic and religious entities and their co-existence and despite the activity of different parties and ideological trends, the political and cultural institutions remain weak and fragile, and national solidarity has not been built. The result of such weakness can be traced and seen in its ongoing civil war in the last five years. The civil war and the conflicts in this country which have coincided with the pursuit of the national interests of regional and international powers and forces demand a common right and will for political and social reforms in this country. Bashar's reform in 2011 failed in a short time due to sabotage of Baath party and collaboration of the army. Meanwhile, the violent repression of protesting people in Syria by the army, and the interventions of the foreign powers in the current evolutions of this country have caused instability and raised the old problem of weakness in nation-state building process, in a way that this problem itself is one of the great factors of continuation of the civil war.