Russia’s Middle East policy: a case study of the Syrian Civil War (2013-2024)

Syria’s civil war is among the most complicated conflicts in the Middle East. This war was fought by multiple state and non-state actors in the region and around the world. It has led to interstate instability between neighboring nations and Western countries via refugee camps, proxy conflicts, and jihadism. In 2024, the 13th year since the start of the civil war in 2011, the Syrian Rebels seized Syria’s capital, Damascus, and announced the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad. Although this move might signal the abolition of the Syrian Civil War, it is yet to be seen if the transition of power will halt all violence in Syria between the many different forces that are in conflict. In spite of this new development, which could be construed as a setback for Russia’s Syria goals, there can be no doubting that Russia’s entry into the war was a crucial moment in Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy. The war became a battlefield for Russia to assert global authority and challenge Western-dominated international laws. Russia used hybrid warfare — a mixed-mineral approach that combines military force, disinformation, economic pressure and diplomacy — to achieve a number of strategic goals, including destabilising the Assad regime, establishing strategic alliances in the Eastern Mediterranean, and consolidating its own power in the Middle East. In order to fill a gap in the literature, this study tries to reconstruct the history of Russia’s Middle East policy, explain the origins and difficulties of the Syrian Civil War and its significance as a test bed for Russia’s hybrid strategy, and to examine the problems and contradictions of Russia’s Middle East policy. In this study, we want to clarify the following three questions: "What historical, geopolitical and strategic factors have shaped Russia’s Middle East policy under Vladimir Putin? ", "How did Russia use hybrid warfare in the Syrian Civil War to accomplish its objectives? and "How will Russia’s actions in Syria shape its more general Middle East policy and its place in the international system?" This study employs a documentary-analytical qualitative method. This dual theory, both realism and constructivism, analyses the intentions, strategies and effects of Russia’s foreign policy towards Syria. This essay examines the history and use of hybrid warfare, Russia’s military and diplomatic action in the earliest interventions, and its policy transformation under Putin. In its focus on the Syrian Civil War, this study adds a layer to the scholarly literature on hybrid warfare by giving us a better idea of Russia’s strategic objectives and how this might affect global security.