Far from being a simple sectarian battle, the Syrian crisis is a calculated violent reconfiguration of society that is being used as a means of advancing Wahhabist influence and Western imperial project. It is an example of “permanent war” crafted to torment the state and transform them into submissive entities for outside control.

The news and videos circulating on the internet of the massacre of Alawites in Syria raises the concern of the contemporary geopolitical order in the region. However, the problem remains with the interpretations of such an affair, which is merely seen as an extension of the long-running Syrian conflict and is seen as a sectarian struggle since the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War in 2012. Such an interpretation conceals the more profound structural dynamics at play where identifying it as merely a sectarian conflict would mean to disregard the wider economic and geopolitical forces that contributed to the Syrian Crisis. This piece posits that in lieu of being a singular incident, the massacre is an example of how the Western grand geostrategy and the Wahhabist project in the region are deeply intertwined with the logic of international system.

The Limitation of the Sectarian Narrative

Examining the Syrian Conflict is somewhat easy and straightforward if one seeks answers from the angle of viewing it solely as a Sectarian conflict and within the binary of Sunni v/s Shia or Alawite v/s Sunni. Derridean Deconstruction of such binaries reveals that identities themselves are in flux and are constructed strategically where the global economy and grand strategy depend upon the artificial solidification of these dichotomies to promote intervention, perpetuate hegemony, and extract economic value out of fractured communities. Western powers foster instability by constant involvement while disguising the actual roots of war – energy domination, arms business and neoliberal economic restructuring. This is being witnessed in Syria with aggressive neoliberal reforms like privatisation, layoffs and deregulation orchestrated by the HTS government. For this war industry to sustain itself, sectarianism will always be postponed and never settled.

Western Powers and the Wreckage of Syria

It is hard to conceive the Syrian Conflict without acknowledging the role played by the external actors which aided the Western Imperial Project. The West Asian region has served as a battleground for the imperial rivalry since the start of the 20th century between the European Powers and now it’s a region where the US and its adversaries have locked horns. The fertile ground for the external disturbances was laid out with the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq against another Baathist figure in the region- Saddam Hussein, who was overthrown to create access for oil and resources for the West.

The neoliberal agenda espoused by the occidental states and the International Financial Institutions was in stark opposition to the secular, state-centric governing model of the Assad regime. Syria’s economy, illustrated by government subsidies and control, renounced the liberalisation and privatisation that global capital sought. The regime, thus, became the focal point of opposition groups supported by the West and Wahhabist projects sponsored by the Gulf, which attempted to topple the government and install an adaptable, market-driven system in its stead.

Furthermore, Assad’s aversion to support Western interests in the region, particularly those with regard to Israel and the oil pipelines, further solidified his regime as a major obstacle for Western ambitions. The goal of the West’s assistance of opposition movements, including Islamist organisations, was not only to overthrow the current administration but also to restructure Syria into a dispersed, neoliberal state that could be integrated into the global economic system on terms favouring Western nations.

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Wahhabis in Syria

The Syrian war has also been heavily impacted by the Wahhabist movement, which is backed by Saudi Arabia and other Gulf governments. As part of their endeavors to bolster their influence in the region, the Gulf monarchies have propagated Wahhabism, a puritanical variation of Sunni Islam. This has materialised in Syria in the form of assistance for Islamist organisations, such as those behind the Alawite slaughter.

The Wahhabist project is a geopolitical and economic enterprise in addition to being religious and theological. The goal of Gulf governments’ promotion of Wahhabism is to offset the power of Iran and its Shia allies, such as the Assad government. It is important to consider the 2025 Alawite massacre in the context of this larger plan, which also includes mitigating the influence of other external actors in the region, especially Iran and Russia.

The violence associated with the Alawite massacre must be thought of as a component of a larger restructuring plan aimed to alter Syria’s social and political landscape by targeting the Alawites. By making society more flexible and fractured, this reconfiguration benefits transnational capital and foreign forces.

In the impoverished regions of Syria, Wahhabism has been successful in gaining ground, benefitting from the governance issues to foster radicalisation. These networks set up a parallel social order with their control over the ideological indoctrination channels. The anti-Shia rhetoric of Wahhabism exacerbated sectarian tensions, elevating local grievances into a larger existential struggle. This aided the sectarian divide by disguising imperial aspirations as a religious renaissance, leading to a prolonged conflict.

The Logic of War

According to Critical War scholars, war is a type of order in and of itself rather than just a breakdown of order. It is a way for restructuring economies and society to suit the interests of those actors with powerful positionality. The violence associated with the Alawite massacre must be thought of as a component of a larger restructuring plan aimed to alter Syria’s social and political landscape by targeting the Alawites. By making society more flexible and fractured, this reconfiguration benefits transnational capital and foreign forces.

The use of violence as a tool to overthrow recalcitrant nations and transform them into submissive entities subject to outside authority is a prime example of this reasoning in the Syrian war. Syria became a battlefield for conflicting imperial endeavours as a result of the Assad regime’s secular, state-centric approach, which stood in the way of Gulf Wahhabist expansion and Western neoliberal aspirations.

The conflict’s persistence stems from its value to outside parties. While Gulf governments employ sectarianism to boost their ideological and geopolitical power, the West views chronic instability as justification for military intervention and economic exploitation. Arms sales, illegal trade, and rebuilding contracts fuel the war economy, which turns into a self-sustaining system that enriches global capital at the price of Syrian lives.

The Syrian crisis is not a diplomatic failure, but rather a triumph of strategic violence. It is an example of the “permanent war” theory, which converts Syria into a laboratory for neoliberal exploitation and imperial experimentation by manipulating chaos to suit hegemonic interests.

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