The civil war in Syria was the result of the regime’s violent response to the Arab Uprisings in 2012. In ten years of war, a lot has changed in the Syrian Arab Republic due to the dynamics of conflict. Although the Arab Spring started as a popular movement against the al-Asad regime, a decade of violence has completely altered the main actors and their preferences. Al-Asad has almost won the war, the Kurds have achieved some autonomy, the opposition forces are practically defeated, and the “internal conflict” has become completely internationalized. Through the scope of civil war theories and theories of international relations, it becomes clear that domestic, regional, and international actors with changing preferences are the main reason for this conflict’s complexity. This then reflects upon the complexity to have fruitful peace processes. To end, a debate is opened about achieving durable peace: coercion does not lead to sustainable peace, but decentralization or even federalism, with the right incentives and cooperation, might be an answer.