THE VICTORY OF RUSSIA IN THE SUPPER-POWER RIVALRY OF THE SYRIAN CONFLICT (2011-2019)

Timothy Ubelejit Nte (Ph.D)

Abstract


Two years after the intervention of Russia’s military, the Syrian conflict sharply tilted in favour of the Bashir al-Assad government that was at a precipice in the summer of 2015 as a result of the aggressive attacks on the Syrian government by multiple rebellion groups. The US supported the pro-democracy revolutionist and other rebels challenging the regime of Assad. There was escalation propensity at several episodes in the Syrian conflict some of which nearly put the US on a collision course with Russia. The objective of the study is to assess the belligerents in the conflict and their mission; to examine how super-power rivalry intensified the conflict; to evaluate the victory of Russia over the United States of America in the conflict. The theoretical framework of the study is the Power Theory or Realism. The qualitative research methodology was adopted for the study. The study concludes that the Syrian war ultimately became the battle ground for the super-power rivalry between the US and Russia. In this highly contested and intensified proxy war Russia emerged victorious. President Donald Trump ordered the withdrawal of US military from Syria on the 19th of December, 2018. Some scholars described the announcement as abrupt move but it is in line with the reality on ground. The study recommends that the example of Russia, whereby a government in power is supported to fight terrorist and rebellious elements should be emulated by the US and her coalition. Western forces led by the US should be more cautious in their interventionist proclivities with regards to democratization.

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