Is the conflict in Syria a civil war, an insurgency or a proxy conflict?The Syrian uprising is an ongoing armed conflict in Syria between forces loyal to the Baath government and those seeking to overthrow its regime. The conflict involves many complex entities with factions seeking a foothold in the country's power struggle. However, this has not always been the case and a review will be carried out to determine whether the conflict can be defined as a civil war, an insurgency or a proxy conflict. The definition of the type of conflict is relevant because it is essential in determining whether or not intervention is necessary and how states can go about it. For example, the laws of war are different from the laws of armed demonstrations. In the case of Syria, it is essential for the UN to understand the progression of the conflict in order to legitimize the aid that should be provided, if any, and to legally intervene in the conflict. The UN should use the type of conflict to define the objectives of any intervention, beyond removing Assad for his alleged war crimes related to the use of chemical weapons. In order to categorize the conflict, each of the terms must be defined: A civil war can be defined as "two or more opposing parties within a country resorting to arms to settle a conflict or when a substantial part of the population takes sides weapons against the legitimate government of a country. Insurgency can be defined as a “civil war characterized by an asymmetry of power between warring groups. The weakest of these groups constitutes the “insurgent” party, while the strongest is the government. Through ideological and social manipulation of the general population, the insurgent party ultimately seeks to transfer political power from government to...... middle of paper ...... balanced as the conflict continued, to form a civil war party. It can also be seen that international actors, both state and non-state, have become more involved in the conflict since its beginning in April 2011. This ever-increasing involvement has transformed the conflict into a proxy civil war that does not appear to have a clear outcome. . . In the current climate, the Syrian conflict may be seen in a different light depending on the parties involved: the Assad regime still views the conflict as an insurgency. Rebel groups continue to view their conflict as a civil war and hope one day for a revolution, while the international community clearly sees that the conflict is now a proxy conflict between many states. However, the main players involved in this proxy conflict can be seen as the United States versus Russia and Iran, Saudi Arabia versus Hezbollah and Iran, and Israel versus Syria and Hezbollah.