This chapter charts Syria’s descent into conflict, from the eruption of demonstrations in March 2011 to the unrestrained brutality that would come to characterise the Syrian conflict – itself an umbrella for a number of distinct conflicts, both civil and international. The chapter focuses on the Syrian government’s leading role in Syria’s conflagration. Beginning with an analysis of the conflict’s origins and the Syrian government’s strategy, which developed from suppression and terror to a ‘total war’, the chapter describes the conduct of the Syrian government against its own people, elaborating on the chemical weapons attacks. It then discusses Russia’s and Iran’s intervention and concludes with an assessment of the implications of the conflict on the civil society in Syria in terms of deaths and casualties, demographic changes in the population of Syria, and the economic repercussions of the conflict.

This section wraps the book's analysis of the conflict in Syria and points to the indeterminacies that still remain. They include, among others, the shape and form of the emerging political structure of Syria, how the refugee crisis will be resolved, and whether international justice could be achieved. The conclusions of the volume portray guidelines for political or legal attempts that will be made to resolve those indeterminacies. It is the mapping and analysis of how the fundamental norms of the international community were brutally violated and the difficulties of restoring justice at the moment, while also elaborating on the developments within the political arena in which all of these events take place, that provide keys for coping with future challenges for both Syria and the international community.

The conclusion of the Syrian war suggests an international failure to prevent a mass calamity and to protect those millions of innocent civilians Irrespective of the developments within Syria, it is already clear that the implications of this conflict will accompany us for years to come and it is not unthinkable that a new chapter of this war will be ignited again in the future.