Syrian Governments’ Policies and Emergence the Ethnic-Religious Disputes (1920-2018)

This study examines the internal causes of the Syrian crisis from the perspective of the development of ethnic and religious relationships in the country. the research question is: how the Syrian government's ethnic-religious policies have affected the ethnic-religious relations in this country, leading to the current crisis. This research covers the period beginning from the collapse of the Ottoman Empire until 2018. The research method is historical and its theoretical framework is the "Ethnic Policy Patterns" presented by Martin Marger. According to this framework, the Syrian government's ethnic-religious policy during the French mandate was “unequal pluralism” aimed at further accentuating the differences between the ethnic-religious minorities and the Syrian Sunni Arabs majority in order hinder Syrian independence championed by Sunni Arabs nationalists. Ethnic-religious policies of the governments during the period of independence were also based on cultural and structural “assimilation” in favor of the Sunni Arab majority. the kurds became subject to expulsion and extermination both physically and culturally. The “unequal pluralism” policy of the French guardian government and the “assimilation” policy of the independent era, despite their different goals, have moved in the same direction, and had the same results. The profound cultural and structural effects of these policies have created a continual sense of suspicion, distrust, and feeling of danger among ethnic-religious groups. This has led to the continuation and intensification of ethnic-religious disputes and conflicts in the country that ultimately brought about the current crisis and the ongoing full-scale war.