Revolutionary Change And Modernization In The Arab World A Case From Syria

This edited collection aims to analytically reconceptualise the Syrian crisis by examining how and why the country has moved from a stable to a war-torn society. It is written by scholars from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds, all of whom make no attempt to speculate on the future trajectory of the conflict, but aim instead to examine the historical background that has laid the objective conditions for Syria’s descent to its current situation. Their work represents an attempt to dissect the multi-layered foundation of the Syrian conflict and to make understanding its complex inner workings accessible to a broader readership. The book is divided into four parts, each of which elaborates on the origins and dynamics of today’s crisis from the perspective of a different discipline. When put together, the four parts provide a holistic picture of Syria’s developmental trajectory from the early twentieth century through to the present day. Themes addressed include Syria’s postcolonial development efforts, its leap into socialism and then into neoliberalism in the late twentieth century, its politics within the resistance front, and finally its food and health security concerns.

The struggle between Egypt and Iraq over Arab hegemony constitutes the main theme of this study. Focussing on the struggle over Middle Eastern defense between 1945-58, and culminating in the conflict over the Baghdad Pact (1955-58), it sheds new light on Arab politics during the period under review. This research concentrates predominantly on the regional actors. The underlying assumption is that policies were not necessarily formulated in Washington and London, and that — often enough — major decisions taken in Ankara, Cairo, Baghdad, Damascus, Amman and other Arab capitals affected decision-makers in Western capitals. The Quest for Hegemony in the Arab World is based on newly-released British, American and Israeli documents, as well as on all available Arab sources. The study's value rests upon its discussion of the Baghdad Pact, a significant event which was hitherto neglected, yet marked a watershed in modern Arab history. This study's approach offers an analytical framework with which the present struggle for hegemony in the Arab world may be examined.

The social and economic forces that worked together to bring the Ba'thist party to power in 1963: the failure of traditional and liberal leadership, an agrarian crisis, the development of party ideology, the politicization of the army and rural mobilization - are examined in this study. Dr Hinnebusch aims to show how the Ba'th's road to power shaped its ideology and the character of its rule. Attention is then given to the pillars of state power - the army, political organizations and the peasantry. The author concludes that the regime has pursued a dual strategy for maintaining power - placing kin and clientelist networks at the levers of coercive power and building structures based on the mass incorporation of the rural population.