__________________________________________________________________________________________ * Corresponding Author Email: afridi.fr@gmail.com 294 Liberal Arts and Social Sciences International Journal (LASSIJ) eISSN: 2664-8148 (Online) DOI: https://doi.org/10.47264/idea.lassij/4.2.23 Vol. 4, No. 2, (July-December 2020): 294-305 Research Article URL: https://www.ideapublishers.org/index.php/lassij Sectarian Divide as a Cause of Protracted Conflict: A Case of Syria (2011-2018) Muhammad Tayyab, Shahid Ahmad Afridi* & Maria Hamid Department of Peace & Conflict Studies, National Defence University (NDU), Islamabad, Pakistan. Received: June 14, 2020 Published Online: December 30, 2020 Abstract Since the people’s uprising in 2011 against the authoritarian regime of Bashar Al Assad and its oppressive policies, Syria is entangled in a long spiral of violent conflict. Though a number of factors explain the violent nature of war and its longevity, however sectarianism proved to be the most significant and the most dominant factors of all. The dominance of minority Alawite community in the country led to the discrimination against other sects especially the Sunni majority, comprising 74 percent of the total population. Such prejudices against Sunnis and other sects have pitched Syrian people against the regime which evolved into a long and sectarian civil war that dominates the Syrian society till date. Applying Protracted Social Conflict Model, this paper tries to answer the question that how sectarianism played a role in the perpetuation of the Syrian civil war during 2011-2018. Using qualitative methods of analysis, the paper endeavours to dig out the roots of the current violent conflict in the country. For data collection and analysis, secondary sources in the form of books, research articles and other internet sources have been consulted in an attempt to analyse what is unknown on the basis of what is known. Keywords: Sectarianism, Communal Discontent, Needs Deprivation, Social Conflict, Middle East, Arab Uprising, Inherent Conflict. 1. Introduction The Syrian conflict is the continuation or an extension of the Arab uprising that erupted in 2011 in Middle East, commonly known as the Arab spring. While the underlying causes of the uprising were very deep, however, the individual act of self-immolation of Muhammad Bu Azizi, a vendor in Tunisia- sparked the outrage of the general public against autocratic regimes across the Middle Eastern Arab world. Syrian society, like most of Middle Eastern states, is divided along the sectarian lines, where one community dominates the rest. The dominancy of the Alawite minority led to the political and economic deprivations of other sects, especially the Sunnis, mainly on the basis of their non-identical identity. Consequently, the inherent conflict in Syria transformed into an overt civil war which perpetuated for a long while. What started as street protests against the Assad’s regime demanding freedom, an equal access to political representation and economic resources, turned into a violent conflict because of the repressive approach of the government. In addition to the existing denial of socio-political and economic opportunities, the brutal crackdown on protesters led to resentment and violent response. Besides the deprivations, the sectarian nature of Syrian society also invited regional players like Saudi Arabia and Iran to the conflict in the name of sectarian intervention which added fuel to the fire. Coupled with that, international powers mainly USA and Russia have