What is the purpose of holding parliamentary elections or any sort of elections in authoritarian state? To deny that the state is authoritarian of course, and to be able to claim that the ruling regime does indeed represent the will of the people, that it is, therefore, legitimate. This claim to legitimacy becomes even more necessary when the state faces a crisis, especially when the crisis is directly related to the foolhardy policies enacted by the regime. Continue reading “The Electoral Game in an Authoritarian State!”
Category: Syrian Politics
The Dying of Old Damascus!
Despite ample protests by civil society advocates, current residents and international NGOs, the Syrian authorities are said to move forward with plans to destroy the last pieces of Old Damascus that remain just outside the Old City Walls, especially the area known as Souq al-Manakhliyyah. Should this indeed take place, thousands of Damascene families will be thrown out of their dwellings with little or no compensation, and a piece of history will perish forever. Unless we can bring prompt international attention to this matter, soon there will be nothing to protest, as we will all be faced with a fait accomplit. Continue reading “The Dying of Old Damascus!”
Rosy Scenarios & Regional Realities!
The Saudis, led by prince Bandar, seems to be doing a really great job trying to break up the HISH Alliance. They are doing this by engaging both the weakest and strongest links in the Alliance. Indeed, and rather than trying to wean the proven hopeless Assads off of their dependence on Iran and Hezbollah, as the pro-engagement crowd in the US was want to do, the Saudis went straight to the source, to the puppet-masters themselves, and showed them the wisdom of divesting themselves from the pesky and troublemaking Assads. In the meantime, they managed to sponsor an important summit in Mecca in which they sponsored a deal between the warring factions in Gaza, and reestablished their patronage over the weakest link in the Alliance – Hamas. Continue reading “Rosy Scenarios & Regional Realities!”
The Unreasonable Heretic!
A friend told me not too long ago that some people tend to find my position on the Assads to be somewhat unreasonable. After all, some of their stands and policies, especially with regard to the peace process and the Arab-Israeli Conflict seem to reflect how the majority of people in Syria and elsewhere in the region and the world feel and think. So why we not support them on these matters? Wouldn’t this be the patriotic thing to do, regardless of how we feel about their internal policies? Continue reading “The Unreasonable Heretic!”
The Ammar Abdulhamid Archive 