Demystifying Syria
Fred H. Lawson
Saqi
Syria stands at the centre of contemporary Middle Eastern affairs but remains poorly understood. Recent writing has focused on the intentions and objectives of the political leadership in Damascus, yet there are severe constraints on what senior policy-makers can actually do.
This collection presents new research conducted by the contributors on aspects of Syrian politics, economics and diplomacy that are too often ignored. Essays on the shifting relations between the Ba'th party and the armed forces, burgeoning private enterprise and the dramatic Turkish—Syrian detente will prove essential reading for anyone with an interest in this pivotal and assertive Middle Eastern state.
Contributors include Bassam Haddad, Souhail Belhadj, Baudoin Dupret, Zohair Ghazzal, Thomas Pierret, Salwa Ismail, Joshua Landis and Joe Pace.
Fred H. Lawson is Rice Professor of Government at Mills College, where he teaches international relations and Middle East politics. He first visited Syria in 1979, and later spent a year at the University of Aleppo as a Fu right Lecturer in International Relations.
Contents
Acknowledgements / 7
Introduction by Fred H. Lawson / 9
1. Changing Social Structure, Shifting Alliances / 13
and Authoritarianism in Syria Salwa Ismail
2. Enduring Legacies: / 19
The politics of private sector development in Syria Bassam Haddad
3. Civil Law and the Omnipotence of the Syrian State / 56
Zohair Ghazzal, Baudouin Dupret and SouhailBelhadj
4. Sunni Clergy Politics in the Cities of Ba‘thi Syria / 70
Thomas Pierret
5. The Shi'i Mausoleums of Raqqa: / 85
Iranian proselytism and local significations
Myriam Ababsa
6. The 1004 Events in al-Qamishli: / 105
Has the Kurdish question erupted in Syria?
Julie Gauthier
7. The Syrian Opposition: / 120
The struggle for unity and relevance, 1003-2008
Joe Pace and Joshua Landis
8. Partnership with the European Union: / 144
Hopes, risks and challenges for the Syrian economy
Anja Zorob
9. Demystifying Syrian Foreign Policy under Bashar al-Asad / 159
BasselF. Salloukh
10. The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship: / 180
Syrian-Turkish relations since 1998
Fred H. Lawson
Notes on Contributors / 207
Bibliography / 213
Index / 219
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Julie Gauthier's essay originally appeared as ‘Les événements de Qamichlo: irruption de la question kurde en Syrie’ in the May 1005 issue of Etudes Kurdes: Revue Semestrielle de Recherches, published by Editions L’Harmattan in Paris. It is translated and republished here by permission of the editor of that journal.
Louise Hosking of the London Middle East Institute copyedited the manuscript with exceptional skill and insight, and with persistent good humour. The editor and contributors are deeply in her debt.
IntroductionFred H. Lawson
Syria’s political, economic, social and diplomatic affairs are often described as ‘mysterious’, ‘puzzling’ or ‘strange’. Sometimes, the descriptions seem apt. At least for now, the October 2005 death of Minister of the Interior Ghazi Kan'an remains a mystery, as does the killing of General Muhammad Sulaiman at his beachfront chalet in early August 2008.1 Equally mysterious at this point is the rapid and unexpected eclipse of General ‘Asif Shawkat, the brother-in-law of the president and head of one of the country’s powerful security services.2 And it is fair to say that ‘mystery surrounded a powerful car bomb explosion that ripped through a residential neighbourhood on the outskirts of Damascus [at the end of September 2008], killing at least seventeen people and injuring fourteen in the deadliest terrorist attack in Syria in more than two decades’.3 The location of the blast, just outside the headquarters of one of the security services, and at a busy crossroads leading to the Shi'i pilgrimage site of the tomb of al-Sayyidah Zainab, leaves one wondering whether the intended target was the military post or the Lebanese, Iraqi and Iranian pilgrims who frequent the area.
Other so-called mysteries reflect a lack of information or superficial analysis. It is probably not helpful to conclude, for instance, that an armed skirmish between Islamist militants and security personnel that erupted in the heart of the capital in June 2006 ‘remains shrouded in mystery’, despite a flood of rumours surrounding the episode.4 It is almost certainly misleading ...
1. ‘Syrian Interior Minister “Commits Suicide’”, The Times (London), 12 October 2005; Nicholas Blanford, ‘The Mystery Behind a Syrian Murder’, Time, 7 August 2008.
2. ‘The Mysterious Downfall of Assef Shawkat’, Mideast Monitor, vol. 3, August 2008.
3. ‘Car Bombing in Damascus Kills at least 17’, Los Angeles Times, 28 September 2008.
4. Chris Zambelis, ‘Violence in Syria Points to Growing Radical Islamist Unrest’, Terrorism Focus, vol. 3,13 June 2006.
Fred H. Lawson
Demystifying Syria
Saqi
Saqi in association with
London Middle East Institute Soas
Demystifying Syria
Fred H. Lawson
ISBN: 978-0-86556-654-7
© London Middle East Institute at SOAS, 2009
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying,
recording or by any information storage and retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publisher.
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not,
by way of trade or Otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out,
or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form
of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without
a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
A full CIP record for this book is available from the British Library.
A full CIP record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
Manufactured in Lebanon
Saqi
26 Westbourne Grove, London W2 5RH
Tabet Building, Mneimneh Street, Hamra, Beirut
www.saqibooks.com
in association with
The London Middle East Institute
School of Oriental and African Studies,
Russell Square, London wcih oxg
www.hnei.soas.ac.uk
