Syrian Crisis: An Analysis of Political and Security Strategies of Involved Actors

In one of the bloodiest developments in the Middle East, a severe crisis has gripped Syria and the region since 2011. In the meantime, each of the regional actors or supra-regional powers, according to their weight and position and based on their interests and considerations, have intervened, played a role or at least taken a stance in this crisis. This article seeks to identify the reasons and factors affecting these policies by examining the political and security strategies of regional and supra-regional actors vis-à-vis the Syrian crisis and study the approaches and tactics adopted by these actors. To this end, three theories of “structuralism”, “Copenhagen School” and “defensive realism” have been used as the theoretical framework. Moreover, by using filing tools, library and internet documents and existing writings, this hypothesis has been substantiated that due to the existence of three types of parallel, mutual and overlapping interests, the behavioral pattern of the actors involved in the Syrian crisis shows three levels of cooperation, competition and confrontation in the Syrian political and military scenes. In this respect, each of the parties involved attempts to have the upper hand by increasing their power and influence, while maintaining and promoting their national interests and controlling and limiting the influence and presence of the other parties.