DefinePK

Abstract

This research paper examines foreign involvement in the Syrian Crisis, in terms of foreign interventions, driven by national interests, strategic dynamics, and geopolitical ambitions, which resultantly enfeebled the State institutions of Syria thus providing space for the emergence of non-state actor like the Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS).  The latter then became a driving force behind toppling the Assad’s longstanding government.  By using qualitative approach and secondary sources couples with interpretivist ontological and subjectivist epistemological position, this study investigates the impact of the external players like Russia, and the United States, on the course of political crisis in Syria, intensifying sectarian cleavages, and dividing the nation into competing areas of influence. It also analyzes how foreign supported proxy wars have hindered the establishment of a unified post-Assad governance framework, rather promoting alternative configurations of local governance by militias. The research provides a wide-range examination of the relationship between foreign intervention and state failure, highlighting wider implications for sovereignty, regional stability, and future peacebuilding in the Middle East.