Catastrophic consequences of war economy on Syria

The economy of the Syrian regime was turned, in rapid pace, into a war economy. It was encountered by counter war economies managed by fighting formations. This fact made it quite difficult as well as impractical to discuss the existence of one Syrian economy (a national economy). Data and indications suggest that the regime is financing its was by Iranian and Russian aids and loans, after settling the Syrian foreign debts – in 2010 – to former Socialist States. We do not have reliable data regarding the accumulated debt since then; however, economists estimate them at around 3.00 billion USD in 2011.
A good indication of the growth of foreign debts is the increase of gross economic losses. Since the beginning of the conflict until the end of 2014, these losses reached 202.6 billion USD; this figure equals 383% of GDP of 2010, according to the Syrian Centre of Policy Researches. Such enormous losses resulted in unprecedented increase in relying on foreign support. It has become well-known that the Iranian government agreed to provide a 4.5 billion USD credit to the Syrian government. This credit was conditional that the latter would provide 20.00 billion USD worth of sovereign guarantees.
This economic collapse is clearly a facet of a general failure! The country is divided into separate territories dominated by several powers. Despite the aforementioned facts, the president has issued a decree that should be discussed. On 30-March-2015, decree No. 19 was issued without any urgent need to provide the minimum requirement for decent human life in the areas under the control of the regime. Needless to say that it was not a response to the latest requirement of development “society”. Such decree was most likely issued for political and security considerations dictated by the relation between the regime and its allies, its being submissive to their conditions, and the interests of the closed circle of the regime. The latter was the reason the country deteriorated into its current situation, in the first place.
The decree dictates the following: “Upon the resolution of the Secretary of Local Administration based of the recommendation of the Province Council or City Council, it is permitted to incorporate a Syrian private anonymous joint stock holding company based on social, economic, and organizational studies, which aim is to invest and manage all or part of the properties of the administrative entity. Such administrative entity owns all the shares of that company. The holding company incorporated as per this legislative decree may incorporate or own stocks in associations of capital and manage the aforementioned whether subsidiary or joint stock”.
This research studies the impacts of this decree on the general economic status of Syria, from various perspectives: administrative, legal, and political. It contributes in dividing aligning Syria with the interests of foreign powers (Iran and Russia) in return for their support in the battle against the opposition. This might explain how this decree pertains to the catastrophic consequences of war economy/economies.
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