Reflection #4

Last week in class, we discussed whether it was in the Syrian rebel’s best interest to resort to violence. Had they stuck to pursuing peaceful demonstrations and means of change, they may have been able to more effectively have their voice heard. As I was reading through Al-Jazeera the other day, there was an article about the exact same topic: http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/10/201210718135394526.html. First of all, I was kind of excited to see a discussion we had had in class play out on such a well-respected news site. Secondly, I was intrigued to see the opinion of the reporter- which turned out to be the same consensus that our class reached. The article suggests that Syria was really in no position to attempt a regime overthrow. The successful revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt were in part allowed by the vulnerabilities in their governments and extremely well-planned out and strong civil society/ democracy movements. The Syrian government has no “cracks”, as discussed in class, and though there are many civil society actors, there is difficulty leading, coordinating, and implementing a new regime. “If people could articulate publicly a different vision for society to that of the regime that ruled them, the regime's days would inevitably be numbered. Thus, any attempt to move beyond a very constrained form of political discourse could not be tolerated by a ruthlessly authoritarian regime like Syria's,” says the article.

It goes on to discuss how the opposition may have miscalculated how quickly the regime would crumble, and only resorted to violence because they thought they would soon have control. Again, this multi-centered structure without a clear course of action or leader that has been a model for the Arab Spring shows many weaknesses, which were also exemplified in the Occupy Movement. The violence that has overtaken Syria was perhaps an unnecessary and useless way for the rebels to attempt to change their society. Even if they are to eventually succeed, the damage already done will take many years to rebuild and to institute a new government. One of the final questions asked in the article is, “Is rebellion worth it when the society you will free has been reduced to rubble with so many deaths?”- and I really don’t know how to answer that question. I see points to both of the answers that could be argued, and I definitely don’t think I could make an informed decision as an outsider. Regardless, the situation in Syria escalated very quickly and without much organization. Had they stuck to non-violent means, they may have had more success in attempting to carry out a regime revolution.