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How Ukraine Remade Syria
And what it teaches about geopolitics
It’s odd how the world holds together. Actions have consequences, and many of those consequences are unintended. Pulling one thread on the tapestry of international relations can have radical effects in other regions.
The regime of Bashir al-Assad, a key ally of Russia and Iran, has fallen. While we should in no way underplay the actions of Assad’s opposition in-country, we should also look at how Russia's invasion of Ukraine contributed to al-Assad’s fall. Moreover, we must consider how the collapse of Russia’s ally in Syria threatens to undermine Russia’s ability to project power into the Middle East, Africa, and the Mediterranean.
Syria is an accident of history
The region now known as Syria is in the center of the Lavant, known in Arabic as the ash-Sham. It has included numerous kingdoms and empires as far back as the third millennium BCE.
The Ottomans ruled these lands for centuries, beginning in the early 16th century. Before that, Syria was a province of a Sultanate centered in lower Egypt.
