Challenges of Nation-State Building in Syria

Syria is a Middle Eastern Arab state, which has had an unsuccessful performance in the Nation-State Building paradigm. This article elaborates on the Nation- State Building models and their usage in the Arab states of the Middle East with an emphasis on the Sykes-Picot Agreement. Then it delves into the challenges facing Nation-State Building process in Syria and related impediments. The main question that this article poses is: What is the most important challenges that have resulted in failure of the Nation-State Building process in Syria? The main reason for such a failure has been the role of the colonial powers (France and the UK); the researcher, however, believes that over the past few decades, the most important reason for the failure has been initially internal authoritarianism and then the role of the regional powers. The researcher focuses on internal dimensions such as population-religious structure, religious identification, comprehensive corruption, uneven economic development, non-realization of national organizations of the elites and the condition of civil services.