Syria: De-Baathification from the Top?

A regime caught in the throes of self-reinvention
Syrian Studies Association Newsletter

The months that followed the US-led invasion of Iraq witnessed mounting pressures on the neighboring country of Syria and its ruling Baathist regime. These pressures, in many ways, came as a result of the Syrian regime’s combative stands vis-à-vis the United States during the early stages of the invasion and its support of the nascent insurgency against it, and were thus aimed at forcing the regime to reverse its policies. Soon, however, the scope of change demanded of the Syrian regime expanded to include its backing of outlawed Palestinian groups and its continued dabbling in Lebanon’s internal affairs and its support for Hezbollah’s activities there. Continue reading “Syria: De-Baathification from the Top?” →

Cradle of Contradictions

Life in Syria has never been simple. The realities, meticulously hidden under a veneer of homogeneity, have always been too complex for even the most discerning of scholars. The peaceful coexistence between the country’s myriad ethnic, religious, and tribal groups is the result of a complex layer of concessions, compromises, tacit agreements, and other pragmatic arrangements perfected over the centuries.

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The Young Syrian

The Jerusalem Report / page 24

Ammar Abdulhamid hopes to spark an intellectual renaissance and encourage political reform at home in Damascus.

Yigal Schleifer / Istanbul

SYRIAN PUBLISHER AND author Ammar Abdulhamid doesn’t like to think small scale. The founder of a year-old nonprofit Damascus publishing house, Abdulhamid is embarking on a translation project through which he plans to introduce the Syrian public to the classic literary and philosophical works of the Western canon. Continue reading “The Young Syrian” →

Syria’s year of living dangerously

Special to The Daily Star

One year after the invasion of Iraq and with the US as its unwelcome neighbor, the Syrian regime (or, at least, most of its power centers and semi-autonomous institutions) seems to have finally grasped the reality of the need for drastic change, perhaps even for an overhaul of the old way of doing things. But can Syria in its current hopelessly divided state and given its poorly qualified cadres produce a sorely needed new vision and mechanisms for change? Continue reading “Syria’s year of living dangerously” →