How Could A Drought Spark A Civil War?
The background of the Syrian conflict can seem obscure to outsiders, but the spark that started it all is often traced back to the city of Dara'a, in February of 2011.
A group of young people writing Arab Spring protest slogans on a wall are arrested and beaten.
"When that news broke there was a massive demonstration on the street, and that was the first spark one can call of the Syrian uprising," Nayan Chanda tells NPR's Jacki Lyden.
But long before a single shot was fired in Syria, there was drought in Dara'a, laying the groundwork for social unrest.
Chanda, the editor-in-chief the YaleGlobal Online Magazine, argues that there are many ways to look at civil war: ethnic factions, economic divides and religions differences. But increasingly, he says that we should also look at climate change as a factor.
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