Syrian People’s Right to Resist to Bashar Assad: Three Contractarian Perspectives

Abstract

In Syria, implications of so-called Arab Spring became visible in March 2011 and the country faced the outbreak of nationwide protests, escalation of tension and armed struggle between regime forces and opposition. These ongoing uprisings in Arab world including Syria have been appraised by international community as steps towards democratization and continue to be studied in the contexts of current events, future scenarios, the role of the West etc. but political theory. The main aim of this study is to discuss the legitimacy of people’s demand for a regime change according to the political philosophies of Hobbes, Locke and Kant which all of them have different perspectives. The findings of this study are the right to resistance of Syrian people to their regime did not emerge with the Arab Spring, that the reasons for a regime change have been there a very long time, and can be found in the political system, economic conditions and civil society of Syria. Furthermore, judgments of these three contractarian the- orists on right to resist have weaknesses and are not enough in an era, which people experience in the modern totalitarian states.

Keywords

Right to Resist, Syria, Hobbes, Locke, Kant

Citation

Acar, Harun, “Syrian People’s Right to Resist to Bashar Assad: Three Contractarian Perspectives”, International Relations, Volume 10, Issue 37 (Spring 2013), pp. 117- 144.

Affiliations

• Harun ACAR, Research Assistant, Kocaeli University, Department of International Relations