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Syria: Revolution from Above
This study examines the development of the Syrian state under thirty-five years of military-Ba'thist rule, particularly under President Hafiz al-Asad. It analyzes how the Ba'th's 'revolution from above' transformed Syria's socio-political terrain.
204 pages, Paperback
First published June 21, 2001
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July 31, 2011great book to start with if you want to begin to understand modern Syria:)
October 27, 2023
This book spends a lot of its pages on a loose Marxist/Socialist analysis that does little more than present data and charts and statistics with some sophomoric scholarship to prop it up. The politics of the Ba'ath Party influences are even thinner, and no less drab. I would hope there is more to the short history of Syria than this shallow investigation, but if there is you will not find it in these pages.
I learned what follows by doing internet searches while struggling through the pages:
The area that would birth the state called Syria, like many other regional players, has a fascinating and multi-faceted cultural history that dates well into the 3rd millenium BC. Sadly, none of that is contained in this short study. Sadly, like too many other nations in the region, Syria seems to lack any specific identity of its own in the 21st century. It has existed in a quasi-police state since its birth in 1961, with 50 years of Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party "emergency law" (1963-2011) running in near lockstep with the ever-increasingly violent-authoritarian regime under the al-Assads. Hafiz (1971-2000) being less brutally violent and oppressive than his son, Bashar, though neither seemed willing or able to make Syria into anything but a puppet regime/punching bag for regional players such as Iran, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, or a launching pad/temporary base for one or more of the multiplicity of armed, militant groups of nationalist, Arabic, or Islamic persuasion that operate in and around Syria proper.
Carved, vaguely, out of the Ottoman Empire by the Allied Powers as a result of Sykes-Picot (1916) and ruled by the French via mandate, it seemed to exist purely for French regional influence as opposed to any idea of establishing a true nation/state called Syria. A brief stint with Egypt as the United Arab Republic preceded the creation of the Arab Republic of Syria in 1961. Since then, Syria has attempted, with little success, to carve out any sort of stability, economically or politically. Under Bashar, it has become a pariah nation of the highest order, so any other nation or group that attaches itself to Syria immediately appears suspect at best, or flat out guilty at worst. One is left to wonder who or what fills the vid when Bashar dies, hopefully violently and with extreme prejudice, as he is a horrifyingly awful pod masquerading as a human being.
I learned what follows by doing internet searches while struggling through the pages:
The area that would birth the state called Syria, like many other regional players, has a fascinating and multi-faceted cultural history that dates well into the 3rd millenium BC. Sadly, none of that is contained in this short study. Sadly, like too many other nations in the region, Syria seems to lack any specific identity of its own in the 21st century. It has existed in a quasi-police state since its birth in 1961, with 50 years of Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party "emergency law" (1963-2011) running in near lockstep with the ever-increasingly violent-authoritarian regime under the al-Assads. Hafiz (1971-2000) being less brutally violent and oppressive than his son, Bashar, though neither seemed willing or able to make Syria into anything but a puppet regime/punching bag for regional players such as Iran, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, or a launching pad/temporary base for one or more of the multiplicity of armed, militant groups of nationalist, Arabic, or Islamic persuasion that operate in and around Syria proper.
Carved, vaguely, out of the Ottoman Empire by the Allied Powers as a result of Sykes-Picot (1916) and ruled by the French via mandate, it seemed to exist purely for French regional influence as opposed to any idea of establishing a true nation/state called Syria. A brief stint with Egypt as the United Arab Republic preceded the creation of the Arab Republic of Syria in 1961. Since then, Syria has attempted, with little success, to carve out any sort of stability, economically or politically. Under Bashar, it has become a pariah nation of the highest order, so any other nation or group that attaches itself to Syria immediately appears suspect at best, or flat out guilty at worst. One is left to wonder who or what fills the vid when Bashar dies, hopefully violently and with extreme prejudice, as he is a horrifyingly awful pod masquerading as a human being.
March 18, 2026
The book greatly improved my understanding of Baathist Syria. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the topic.
September 17, 2019
Hinnebusch’s Syria: Revolution From Above analyses Syria’s development following the rise to power of the Ba’ath Party, attempting to understand the concentration of power and complexities of Syrian politics under President Hafiz al-Asad.
A prominent Marxist theorist, Hinnebusch's very readable study contextualises the revolution that brought al-Asad to power in the post-war period of Syrian state building and transformation. He examines the consequences of the initial 1966 Ba’athist revolution, before moving on to the 1970 Corrective Movement. The book covers power dynamics and state-society relations under al-Asad, political economy, and foreign policy.
Hinnebusch argues the regime is best characterised as ‘populist authoritarianism’ (p.1). That is, an elite ‘led and supported by elements of the small middle class, and initially based primarily on command of the military and bureaucracy’ who face a challenge in acquiring legitimacy among the general public (p.2). That is, a revolution from above, in which elites transform political institutions and social structures through means of a ‘reform coup’ (p.2). The book is strong in its detailing how the pre- and post-Corrective Movement Ba'athist regimes built up patronage networks in both rural (through agrarian reforms) and urban areas (through appropriating elements of the middle class), enabling them to maintain a delicate balance between Syria's stratified ethnic and economic groups.
Unable to sustain a state-based development model, there was a gradual shift towards increasing liberalisation generally in line with the wider regional shift towards a more liberal economic paradigm. Under this shift, the government encouraged public-private partnerships in tourism and agriculture, before instituting a larger policy allowing ‘foreign and private investment in industry’, as well as waiving of import duties and taxes (pp.134-5). Nonetheless, widespread corruption and bureaucracy restricted economic progress.
At times, Hinnebusch might have benefited from more consideration of the consequences of Ba’athist rule from the perspective of ordinary civilians. A particularly engaging section is its analysis of factors leading to the Islamic uprising 1979-82, and its afterword poses some challenges facing the younger al-Asad’s premiership. But day-to-day life for Syrians under the regime is given less priority in favour of the analysis of elites. Nonetheless, the book remains a milestone study in the field of Syria, effectively navigating the regime’s multifaceted complexities and providing a substantial look forward to the younger al-Asad’s presidency, which initiated its neoliberal reform project in the early 2000s.
A prominent Marxist theorist, Hinnebusch's very readable study contextualises the revolution that brought al-Asad to power in the post-war period of Syrian state building and transformation. He examines the consequences of the initial 1966 Ba’athist revolution, before moving on to the 1970 Corrective Movement. The book covers power dynamics and state-society relations under al-Asad, political economy, and foreign policy.
Hinnebusch argues the regime is best characterised as ‘populist authoritarianism’ (p.1). That is, an elite ‘led and supported by elements of the small middle class, and initially based primarily on command of the military and bureaucracy’ who face a challenge in acquiring legitimacy among the general public (p.2). That is, a revolution from above, in which elites transform political institutions and social structures through means of a ‘reform coup’ (p.2). The book is strong in its detailing how the pre- and post-Corrective Movement Ba'athist regimes built up patronage networks in both rural (through agrarian reforms) and urban areas (through appropriating elements of the middle class), enabling them to maintain a delicate balance between Syria's stratified ethnic and economic groups.
Unable to sustain a state-based development model, there was a gradual shift towards increasing liberalisation generally in line with the wider regional shift towards a more liberal economic paradigm. Under this shift, the government encouraged public-private partnerships in tourism and agriculture, before instituting a larger policy allowing ‘foreign and private investment in industry’, as well as waiving of import duties and taxes (pp.134-5). Nonetheless, widespread corruption and bureaucracy restricted economic progress.
At times, Hinnebusch might have benefited from more consideration of the consequences of Ba’athist rule from the perspective of ordinary civilians. A particularly engaging section is its analysis of factors leading to the Islamic uprising 1979-82, and its afterword poses some challenges facing the younger al-Asad’s premiership. But day-to-day life for Syrians under the regime is given less priority in favour of the analysis of elites. Nonetheless, the book remains a milestone study in the field of Syria, effectively navigating the regime’s multifaceted complexities and providing a substantial look forward to the younger al-Asad’s presidency, which initiated its neoliberal reform project in the early 2000s.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews