Foreign Policy

Author

Institution

The country that I choose for the completion of this assignment is Syria and the type of government that the country has, is a democratic system. In the recent past, the Syrian economy has worsened due to the imposition of colossal economic sanctions aimed at restricting trade ties with the European countries, Arabs, as well as the United States. These trading sanctions and the volatility related to civil war have impacted negatively on the future prospect of the Syrian economic growth. The year 211 and 2012 witnessed a major decline in the Syrian economy with the unemployment rate rising to 14.9 percent in 2011 as compared to previous years (Zizek, 2013). The augmented pressure on the workforce emanates from an increase in the number of Iraqi refugees in the country leading to rising competition in the labor market. Additionally, the country does not have suitable labor regulations to safeguard the rights of employees due the economic and political turmoil.

The relationship between Syria and the United States is strained, although the two countries have tried to uphold diplomatic exchanges. In 2011, their relationship became tenser due to progressive civil war that involved mass killings and violation of human rights. In August 2013, the US issued a warning to Syria over biological and chemical warhead installations in retaliation to a chemical warfare that was conducted by loyal troops to Assad on insurgent strongholds in Damascus. However, the terror group has denied any connection with the attacks, but president Obama asserts that the US intelligence has confirmation of the attack. Conversely, there is no significant evidence provided to the public on the matter apart from numerous reports from key stakeholders in the US Senate. Nonetheless, a Committee that looks at matters of foreign relations endorsed the attack through voting and the outcome was 10-7 vote (BBC News, 2013).

Further Syria’s resistance to the Iraq war worsened the relations. Somber dispute arose due to failure of the Syrian Government to restrict foreign fighters from using their border to attack Iraq. Additionally, the government failed to revolutionize some of the leadership styles adopted by the Saddam Hussein administration that backed Iraq’s recalcitrance. On the other hand, the Syrian Government was worried about the increasing number of refugees from Iraq into Syria. Other issues that sour the relationship between the two countries is the current meddling into the affairs of Lebanon, Syrian support of Palestinian leadership and its policies on the production of weapons of mass destruction. Due to this strained relationship the Government of the United States has inflicted an array of economic sanctions on Syria (Martin, 2013).

Although the Government of the United States has commenced a rapprochement policy with the Syrian Government, senior American officials have pushed for the resignation of the Syrian president (BBC News, 2013). While this move may not be appealing to President Bashar al-Assad’s allies, the US government should come up with diplomatic policies aimed at strengthening political, social and economic ties with Syria. Through these ties, the US government may compel Syria to change some of its policies, especially those that lead to violations of human rights and armament. Although, the American stand on Syria is anomalous, it has constantly taken incoherent positions on matters relating to the Middle East. The US foreign policy towards Syria should be based on conflict resolution. On the other hand, the US should remove trade sanctions with the country boost the country’s economic growth. This would create more job opportunities and help to reduce accelerating employment rates in Syria

References

Zizek, S. (2013) ‘Syria is a pseudo-struggle’, The Guardian, 27 November 2013, Retrieved from HYPERLINK “http://socialistresistance.org/5640/the-crisis-in-syria-today-how-should-the-lef”http://socialistresistance.org/5640/the-crisis-in-syria-today-how-should-the-lef… Accessed on 6th December 2013.

Martin, C. (2013), ‘American threats widen fault lines among Syria’s rebels’, The Guardian, 22 November 2013, HYPERLINK “http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/08/american-syria-rebels”http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/08/american-syria-rebels. Retrieved on 6th December 2013.

BBC News (2013),‘Syrian National Coalition agrees Geneva talks position’, Retrieved from HYPERLINK “http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24894536” http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24894536,

Al Jazeera (2013, November 29th). Retrieved from HYPERLINK “http://socialistresistance.org/5640/the-crisis-in-syria-today-how-should-the-lef” http://socialistresistance.org/5640/the-crisis-in-syria-today-how-should-the-lef… Accessed on 6th December 2013.