Political Snapshot
BACKGROUND
Syria was under Ottoman rule for more than 400 years before it was liberated in 1918 by Sharif Hussein and with the assistance of Great Britain. Syria's liberation was part of the great Arab revolt against Ottoman rule which started in 1916. Upon liberation Syria was declared an independent Kingdom with King Faisal I as its head. King Faisal I was the son of Sharif Husein - great grand father of Jordan's present king. The rule of King Faisal I lasted 2 years as in 1920 Syria was attacked and colonised by France. Syria's colonisation was with the agreement of the British government as part of the "Sykes-Picot agreement". The agreement set out the terms under which Great Britain and France agreed to divide and share the Middle East. France's colonisation of Syria was confirmed by the League of Nations in 1923.
The Syrian population were unhappy under French rule and wanted independence. After successive revolts and attacks against the French, after 28 years of French rule on 17 April 1946 the last French soldier left Syria's soil and the country thus gained its independence. After independence Syria's political atmosphere was characterized by instability both internally and externally. There were many competing forces jostling for economic and political position in the country and this lead to a number of Coup D'etats.
Furthermore external events started to affect Syria, the most important of which was the establishment of Israel. Syria was one of the first countries to object to Israel's creation and immediately entered into war upon Israel's declaration of independence (alongside 5 other Arab Armies). Upon cessation of violence one and half years later, Syria was the last country to sign an armistice agreement with Israel.
Another important regional event with an enormous impact on Syria's political landscape was the creation of the United Arab Republic (UAR) in 1958. The UAR included Egypt, Syria and South Yemen under the leadership of the charismatic Egyptian leader Jamal Abdul Nasser. However the UAR was dissolved only after 3 years due to a number of differences between Egypt and Syria which were mainly related power sharing issues.
The Ba'ath party and and Hafez Assad's Syria
In March 1963 the Syrian political landscape was reshaped again when the Baathist movement took the reigns in what has become known as the March revolution. With its Socialist Arab Nationalist thinking the movement aimed to reach out to all levels of Syrian society, especially the poor and the dispossessed. Upon gaining power the Baathist started to nationalise all of Syria's industries under a wealth sharing scheme with the Syrian population. However the party was marred by infighting until 1967 when Israel invaded Syria which resulted in Syria losing control of the Golan heights to Israel. Defeated by Israel and with infighting within its ranks, right wing Baathists lead by Syria's Defence Minister Hafez Al Assad (also a MiG-21 fighter Pilot) lead the correctionist movement within the Baath party who moved to depose Syria's leader Saleh Jadid.
Subsequently Assad himself became Syria's new leader. He was instrumental in bringing internal stability to the Baath party and Syria. This was due to Assad surrounding himself with officials from Syria's security apparatus and members of his own Alawite tribe. It is worth noting that the Alawites who are related to the Shiite sect of Islam are a minority in Sunni dominated Syria (making up 20% of Syria's population). Assad's rule was the continuation of the Baathist doctrine and beliefs. As a result centralisation of Syria's economy continued, relations with the USSR were strengthened (due to political ideology and strategic commonalities) and plans were made to attack Israel to recapture the lost Golan heights. The plan was put into action in October 1973 when Syria invaded Israel (alongside Egypt and 4 other Arab countries). Despite early gains and a massive Soviet military airlift to Damascus, Syria was unable to recapture the heights from Israel. This was due to Israel regaining the initiative militarily which was also assisted by a massive American military airlift.
Three years after the end of the "October war" Syria found itself involved in regional matters again. In1976 Syrian forces entered Lebanon upon invitation by Lebanon's Christian forces. This was a strategic move by Assad because he viewed Lebanon part of Syria's old empire (in Arabic called Bilad a Shaam) which included Lebanon . The empire was taken away by the British and the French in 1920 under the "Sykes-Picot agreement" and this angered Assad. Many visiting heads of states were subjected to lectures by Assad regarding the pit falls of the Sykes-Picot agreement. Therefore after entering Lebanon in 1976, Hafez Al- Assad's Syria never left. This is despite the fact that many invitations to leave have been issued by rising number of Lebanese citizens as well as the UN.
As with regards to Israel, although Assad never managed to recapture the Golan Heights, he made sure to extract a price from Israel for its occupation at every possible opportunity he could find. So when the Lebanese Shiites had a grievance against Israel, he supplied them with weapons as well as backing to attack Israel. When the Palestinian extremist called for Israel's destruction, they found a home in Damascus and received weapons and training. This still continues today. Syria's internal politics and economy was and is very much marked by Assad's one man and one party rule until his death in 2000. This is evident in the Syrian political constitution today where all political parties must belong to the Baathist party. Although "independent" candidates are allowed to run, they are heavily vetted by Syria's Ministry of Security which is run and controlled by the Baathist party. Therefore any independent candidates who have ideas which run contrary to the Baathist ideology will not be allowed to run.
BASHAR ASSAD
Upon Assad's death his British educated son Bashar took power. Many were hoping that with his Western education Bashar will bring some much needed reforms to Syria's political and economic structure. This did happen although in a very limited scale, because his father's old colleagues who are instrumental in keeping Bashar in power disagreed with the reform programs. Mainly because such reforms will be at their economic and political expense. Therefore staying in power being Bashar's priority, he stopped any political reforms on the agenda whilst reducing the economic reforms to a trickle. The evidence of this can be seen today through Syria's centralised economy and continued anti- American and anti-Israeli policies which are all continuation of Hafez Al Assad's policies.
In the international arena, two major events have shaken the Bashar's prestige: The assassination of Rafik Hariri and the withdrawal from Lebanon. In February of 2004, Rafik Hariri, ex-PM and popular leader in Lebanon, was assassinated in Beirut. Syria has widely been the focus of international suspicion for this murder. "It is clear that the assassination took place in a political and security context marked by acute polarization around the Syrian influence in Lebanon", states the Fitzgerald Report. As a result of international pressure and internal political tides, Syria left southern Lebanon in April of 2005, After 29 year of presence.
Bashar Assad's internal and external incoherence in matters of policy have been the focus of much research and analysis. While Bashar has managed to stay in power for a significant time – installing his own personnel and tapping into the Anti- Western/Ameircan/ Israeli sentiments - Many claim that these are blunders signal what is to come – a downfall. To this one may add the newly awakened Islamic tide in the Arab world. Such a tide, together with the poor state of the Syrian economy, is now the focus of attention amidst Syrian Analysts.
Political parties
The Baa'th party is the political power broker in Syria. There are seven political parties in the country however they are all affiliated with the Baath party and report to it. The coalition of the seven political parties is called the National Progressive Front (in Arabic al-Jabha al-Wataniyah at-Taqadumiyah) . This is confirmed by Article 8 of the Syrian Constitution which declares the Ba'th Arab Socialist Party to be the leading party in the state. Independent candidates are also able to run for elections, however they must be checked by the Baath party run Ministry of Security. Therefore although the candidates are called independent, in reality they are not allowed to come from opposing political ideas, otherwise the Ministry of Security would not allow them to stand for elections.
Elections
Recent elections take place under the Syrian political system:
• Legislative elections (last held in March 2003)
• Municipal elections (last held April 1999)
• Presidential referendum (last held in July 2000)
The highest executive office of the Syrian Arab Republic is held by the President. The term of office for the President is seven years. Only the Baath party is allowed to propose a candidate for the Presidency. The proposed candidate is confirmed by a popular referendum and the winning candidate must capture a majority of the votes. The Syrian government also has an executive branch which consists of vice-presidents, a prime minister, and a Council of Ministers who are all appointed by the president. The legislative branch is composed of the People's Assembly (in Arabic Majlis al-Shaab). The assembly which is unicameral body consists of 250 members who are elected for terms lasting four years. All representatives are from 15 multi-seat constituencies. 167 out of the 250 seats in the People's assembly are reserved for members of the National Progressive Front. Independent candidates can hold 83 seats in the parliament.
While the power broker remains the Baath party, one should be attentive to two streams of political dissent. The first is the ever present intellectual – liberal – elite. This elite, who awakened in the "Damascus Spring", was soon put down with an iron fist. The second political dissent group is the Islamic movement in Syria. It has been more of a social movement, which is part of the Arab world trend, yet it has strong potential to awaken as a major political force and a threat to the current regime.
By: Meir Javedanfar and Tal Gurevich- www.meepas.com Back |
