The Struggle for Power in Syria

Auteur :

Éditeur : I.B.Tauris	Date & Lieu : 1996, London
Préface :	Pages : 228
Traduction :	ISBN : 1 86064 024 9
Langue : Anglais	Format : 135x215 mm
Code FIKP : Liv. Eng. Van. Str. 3663	Thème : Général

Présentation	Table des Matières	Introduction	Identité	PDF
Nikolaos van Dam The Struggle for Power in Syria I.B.Tauris ‘An excellent book’ - Patrick Seale ‘An admirable study... invaluable for anyone with a serious interest in Middle Eastern politics.’ - Peter Mansfield ‘The most informative explanation of the effects of sectarianism and regionalism on Syrian politics.’ -Philip S. Khoury, Merip Reports Published for the first time in a fully revised and updated paperback edition, Nikolaos van Dam’s book is a classic study of politics and society in modern Syria. Explaining the factors that have enabled the regime of Hafiz al-Asad to stay in power much longer than any other since independence, the book shows how Asad’s disappearance may seriously disrupt Syria’s uneasy stability. Through an in-depth examination of the role of sectarian, regional and tribal loyalties, van Dam traces developments within the Ba‘th Party and the military and civilian power elite from the 1963 Ba‘thist takeover up to the present day. He shows how the period of profound social change that followed 1963 saw the rise of the Islamic minority communities in national politics and the transformation of the lives of people from the countryside. Particular attention is given to issues such as the implications for Syria’s future of the monopolization of power by Asad and his Alawi-dominated officers’ faction; Sunni opposition to the regime; and the evolution of Syrian politics through the 1980s and 90s. This book will be of great interest to students of politics and society in the Middle East and the Third World. Nikolaos van Dam is a specialist on Syria and is currently Ambassador of the Netherlands in Cairo.

Table des Matières

Contents

List of tables / vi
Preface / vi

1 Introduction / I
2 The rise of minorities in the Syrian armed forces and in the Ba'th Party / 15
3 Sectarian polarization in the Syrian armed forces between Sunnis and religious minorities / 34
4 The purge of Druze officers in the Syrian armed forces / 48
5 The struggle for power within the Alawi community / 62
6 Sectarian and regional factionalism in the Syrian political elite: a statistical analysis / 75

Map: Administrative divisions in Syria / 80
7 Sectarian provocation and confrontation / 89
8 Sectarian showdown: eradication of the Muslim Brotherhood / 105
9 The power elite under Hafiz al-Asad / 118
10 Conclusions / 136

Appendix A: A Ba'thist analysis of sectarianism, regionalism and tribalism / 146
Appendix B: Confessions about sectarianism in the army units of Hama / 152
Appendix C: An analysis of the Syrian armed forces / 156

Notes / 167

Bibliography / 202

Index / 220

Tables

1 Regional and sectarian representation in Syrian cabinets (1942-63) / 82
2 Regional and sectarian representation in Syrian cabinets (1963-76) / 83
3 Regional and sectarian representation in Syrian Regional Commands of the Ba'th Party (1963—95) / 84
4 Sectarian representation in Syrian cabinets (1942-76) / 85
5 Sectarian representation in the Syrian Regional Commands of the Ba'th Party (1963-95) / 86
6 Sectarian backgrounds of the military members of the Syrian Regional Commands of the Ba'th Party (1963-95) / 86
7 Regional and sectarian backgrounds of the military members of the Syrian Regional Commands of the Ba'th Party (1963-95) / 87
8 Party apparatus distribution on 31 October 1984 / 87
9 Distribution of party apparatus and population according to branches and percentage of party apparatus in population eligible by age and the end of October 1984 / 88