Country dynamics on the application of responsibility to Protect (R2p): a case of Syria between 2011 and 2019

Abstract

This study was conducted in the backdrop of contending political discourses on the application of the principle of the responsibility to protect. This was particularly in the international prevention and reaction to violations of human rights and the global apathy towards efforts to stop atrocities and violation of human rights across the world. From the aforementioned, the study sought to examine the country specific dynamics that influence the applicability of the principle of the responsibility to protect (R2P) and its efficacy in humanitarian issues ensuing from an armed conflict. This study had three objectives; first, to examine how the doctrine of R2P has been used in risk management in Syria; secondly, to find out how natural resources influence the application of R2P in Syria; thirdly, to examine the effects of ethno-religious factors and hegemonic power politics on the observation of R2P in Syria. The study was theoretically guided by structural realism and man-milieu hypothesis. Methodologically, the study was a case study based on secondary data which was analysed thematically. The study found out that the failure of the doctrine of R2P to stop conflicts, atrocities and to protect civilian population in Syria was not a failure of the doctrines per se but that of the imperfect actors and institutions responsible with its implementation and apathy ensuing from the partisan usage of R2P to advance selfish interests. Further, the application of this doctrine has been complicated by the country-specific dynamics. The study also found out that Syria’s natural resource configuration complicate humanitarian interventions with competing geopolitical interests among the intervening global and regional powers. Finally, the study found that Syria’s conflict has exploited the ethno-religious fissures in the country further fermenting conflict and complicating humanitarian efforts. The study recommends cooperation to thwart humanitarian apathy and address the issue of how to effectively protect civilians at risk. In addition, there is a need to harness the potential of international and regional institutions in order to challenge the notion that sovereignty is a potential hindrance to the application of the principle of the responsibility to protect.