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The Struggle for Syria: A Study in Post-War Arab Politics, 1945-1958
This is a study of post-war Arab politics from 1945-1958. Syrian politics provide the most important key to understanding Middle East and Arab politics.
384 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
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About the author
Patrick Seale
18 books36 followersPatrick Abram Seale was a Belfast-born journalist and author who specialised in the Middle East. A former correspondent for The Observer, he interviewed many Middle Eastern leaders and personalities. Seale was also a literary agent and art dealer.
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December 7, 2023
The Struggle for Syria: A Study in Post-War Arab Politics, 1945-1958 by Patrick Seale is a book that I find myself returning to every few years. Originally published in 1965 and later reissued in the late 1980s, this insightful work provides a deep exploration of Arab politics in Syria in the years that followed the end of WWII. For those intrigued by Syria or the Middle East, it serves as a valuable resource to comprehend the roots of the country's current challenges.
I must also note that this book was one of the primary works that motivated me to write my own book, which was published in late 2021: In Search of Greater Syria, The History and Politics of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party. Patrick Seale, a British journalist who passed away in 2014, was the author of several other books on the region.
This work guides readers through the intricate political landscape of post-Mandate Syria, exploring the transition as France handed over control to the first generation of Syrian politicians. The initial three chapters provide a vivid backdrop, focusing on key figures like Shukri al-Quwatli and the National Party, as well as their rivals in Aleppo, particularly the People's Party. In this era of newfound independence, Syria navigated geopolitical waters, oscillating between alliances with Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the Hashemites in Iraq and Jordan, the latter two being supported by the British.
However, lurking just beneath the surface in this emerging world of independence, awaited an array of younger, radical parties that are waiting for their chance at the helm: the Muslim Brotherhood, the Syrian Communist Party, the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP), the Arab Socialist Party, and the Baathists. A new generation of Syrians who had once looked up to the old guard of the independence movement had now formalized a range of ideologies — many inspired by the growth of European nationalist and communist movements — and subsequently seeped into Syria's educational and military institutions. A plethora of young officers emerged to test the waters of Syrian power politics, with long-lasting consequences.
Seale segues into the aftermath of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, with a focus on the political fallout in Damascus. Israel emerges victorious and the Arab armies return home in defeat. Everyone has it in for our friend, Quwatli. Did you know that Syria experienced three military coups in 1949 alone? The first, in March, brought Army Chief of Staff Husni Zaim to power. This was the first military coup in the modern history of the Arab World. The scene shifts to Zaim's diplomatic gambits between seeking an alliance with the Egyptian-Saudi bloc and the Hashemite Iraqis. Hanging over the entire picture is the potential for Syria and Iraq to form a union, which the People's Party in Aleppo supports. However, after some behind-closed-doors haggling, Zaim pulls a switch-a-roo and goes running to the Egyptian-Saudi bloc, believing it to be a safer bet from the British-linked Hashemites.
Things go south for Zaim when he initiates a partnership with the Lebanese thinker Antoun Saadeh, who is the founder and intellectual leader of the SSNP. It seems like a match made in heaven to put pressure on the Lebanese. However, Zaim betrays Saadeh and hands him over to Beirut and the Lebanese authorities put Saadeh on trial and execute him by firing squad before dawn on July 8, 1949. Saadeh's partisans had been wanted in Lebanon for trying to topple the government. The SSNP is outraged and Saadeh-sympathizing army officers in the Syrian military spring into action.
The second coup in August '49 ended up with Zaim himself in front of a firing squad. The new military ruler, Sami al-Hinnawi, started to move Syria towards a union with Iraq. This freaks out the independent-minded establishment that fears Syria's republic moving dangerously into the British zone of influence. The third and final coup in December brought Adib Shishakli to power and Damascus remained in his hands until 1954. There is much more detail in these chapters discussing the SSNP, Shishakli, other important figures, political parties, and regional diplomacy in this section of the book and it's the part that I found the most interesting and educational.
The Struggle thus moves into the final stretch with the brief period of democracy that followed the downfall of Shishakli in 1954 through to the union with Nasser's Egypt in 1958. After Shishakli is ousted, elections are held and political pluralism re-emerges. However, Seale demonstrates how the role of the army in Syrian society and politics has forever changed and still leaves a lasting impact where the power of the army is constantly lurking just around the corner. We see the Baath and Communists, two parties that were persecuted under Shishakli's regime, make gains. There is new political momentum building for a union with Egypt. The tide of Pan-Arabism is rising and subsequent events — both inside and outside of Syria — help the wave of Arab nationalism make important strides in Syrian politics.
The assassination of Adnan al-Malki, a popular Syrian army officer with strong connections to the Baath Party. Gunned down at a soccer game by members of the SSNP in April 1955, the ensuing crackdown became a major inflection point in which the army orchestrated the show trials (reminiscent of Stalin in the Soviet Union), and thousands of SSNP partisans were brought to courtrooms, found guilty and sentenced to lengthy prison terms.
Enter Abdel Hamid Sarraj, the dreaded head of Syria's military intelligence. Sarraj, a staunch Arab nationalist, ally of Nasser, and proponent of a union with Egypt, relentlessly hunted down Syria's anti-government conspirators, real and imagined. Sarraj out-maneuvered, persecuted, and jailed all political opposition, becoming an enormously powerful individual during this period. Sarraj's mission expands even beyond the scope of the Malki assassination, going on to search for other anti-Syrian conspirators.
Seale wrote:
"His accusations cut ruthlessly into the tangle of family patronage and local loyalties which make up much of the substructure of Syrian politics. Many of the men he put on trial bore respected names: Atasi, Ilyan, 'Ajlani, Atrash. They were also members of parliament, their immunity set aside by the state of emergency. They had in common their pro-Iraqi sympathies, their leanings towards the West, their traditionalism, their distaste for the extremes of nationalism. To Sarraj, they were all traitors."
The wider witch hunt that followed even led to the United States being blamed for trying to restore Shishakli to power. Well, the US did have to put the brakes on its own coup plot (Operation Straggle) when the October 1956 Suez Crisis threatened to steal the show. By the late 1950s, the political developments in Damascus brought about the final push that led to the establishment of the United Arab Republic, with Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser reluctantly at the helm. Unfolding in the background is the enduring contest of the Cold War competition between the United States and the Soviet Union, as well as the efforts of some Syrian factions to keep their country neutral.
The Struggle for Syria is an essential book to take readers back through the early years of Syria's independence and the figures who lorded over the country's politics during this fraught time. It provides key insights into the Baath, once an avand-garde political movement that was underground and its activities banned. The party eventually moved from a civilian-dominated group toward a military-dominant one. This experience in part led the Baath towards becoming the vehicle of two authoritarian juggernauts down the road.
Seale also details how the regional countries both courted and feared Syria's internal dynamics and sought to engage and control it. Central to this notion is the tug-of-war between Nasser's Egypt and the British-sponsored Iraq headed by Nuri al-Said. Priceless interviews with Michel Aflaq, Salah ad-Din Bitar, Shawkat Shuqayr, Khalid al-Azm, and Nazim al-Qudsi — important political figures now long gone from the scene — all provide an essential glimpse into the regional struggle that unfolded during the thirteen years covered in Seale's work.
This is an old-school political history book without all the bells and whistles you see these days. Struggle is not loaded with academic jargon but is deeply informed and written with the accessibility and precision of a journalist. If you like this type of political history, Seale's writing, insightful narrative, and skilled analysis is a crucial work for anyone hoping to understand Syria and the history of the modern Middle East. Struggle is a book that will always sit with a certain quiet pride on my shelf of Middle East history.
I must also note that this book was one of the primary works that motivated me to write my own book, which was published in late 2021: In Search of Greater Syria, The History and Politics of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party. Patrick Seale, a British journalist who passed away in 2014, was the author of several other books on the region.
This work guides readers through the intricate political landscape of post-Mandate Syria, exploring the transition as France handed over control to the first generation of Syrian politicians. The initial three chapters provide a vivid backdrop, focusing on key figures like Shukri al-Quwatli and the National Party, as well as their rivals in Aleppo, particularly the People's Party. In this era of newfound independence, Syria navigated geopolitical waters, oscillating between alliances with Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the Hashemites in Iraq and Jordan, the latter two being supported by the British.
However, lurking just beneath the surface in this emerging world of independence, awaited an array of younger, radical parties that are waiting for their chance at the helm: the Muslim Brotherhood, the Syrian Communist Party, the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP), the Arab Socialist Party, and the Baathists. A new generation of Syrians who had once looked up to the old guard of the independence movement had now formalized a range of ideologies — many inspired by the growth of European nationalist and communist movements — and subsequently seeped into Syria's educational and military institutions. A plethora of young officers emerged to test the waters of Syrian power politics, with long-lasting consequences.
Seale segues into the aftermath of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, with a focus on the political fallout in Damascus. Israel emerges victorious and the Arab armies return home in defeat. Everyone has it in for our friend, Quwatli. Did you know that Syria experienced three military coups in 1949 alone? The first, in March, brought Army Chief of Staff Husni Zaim to power. This was the first military coup in the modern history of the Arab World. The scene shifts to Zaim's diplomatic gambits between seeking an alliance with the Egyptian-Saudi bloc and the Hashemite Iraqis. Hanging over the entire picture is the potential for Syria and Iraq to form a union, which the People's Party in Aleppo supports. However, after some behind-closed-doors haggling, Zaim pulls a switch-a-roo and goes running to the Egyptian-Saudi bloc, believing it to be a safer bet from the British-linked Hashemites.
Things go south for Zaim when he initiates a partnership with the Lebanese thinker Antoun Saadeh, who is the founder and intellectual leader of the SSNP. It seems like a match made in heaven to put pressure on the Lebanese. However, Zaim betrays Saadeh and hands him over to Beirut and the Lebanese authorities put Saadeh on trial and execute him by firing squad before dawn on July 8, 1949. Saadeh's partisans had been wanted in Lebanon for trying to topple the government. The SSNP is outraged and Saadeh-sympathizing army officers in the Syrian military spring into action.
The second coup in August '49 ended up with Zaim himself in front of a firing squad. The new military ruler, Sami al-Hinnawi, started to move Syria towards a union with Iraq. This freaks out the independent-minded establishment that fears Syria's republic moving dangerously into the British zone of influence. The third and final coup in December brought Adib Shishakli to power and Damascus remained in his hands until 1954. There is much more detail in these chapters discussing the SSNP, Shishakli, other important figures, political parties, and regional diplomacy in this section of the book and it's the part that I found the most interesting and educational.
The Struggle thus moves into the final stretch with the brief period of democracy that followed the downfall of Shishakli in 1954 through to the union with Nasser's Egypt in 1958. After Shishakli is ousted, elections are held and political pluralism re-emerges. However, Seale demonstrates how the role of the army in Syrian society and politics has forever changed and still leaves a lasting impact where the power of the army is constantly lurking just around the corner. We see the Baath and Communists, two parties that were persecuted under Shishakli's regime, make gains. There is new political momentum building for a union with Egypt. The tide of Pan-Arabism is rising and subsequent events — both inside and outside of Syria — help the wave of Arab nationalism make important strides in Syrian politics.
The assassination of Adnan al-Malki, a popular Syrian army officer with strong connections to the Baath Party. Gunned down at a soccer game by members of the SSNP in April 1955, the ensuing crackdown became a major inflection point in which the army orchestrated the show trials (reminiscent of Stalin in the Soviet Union), and thousands of SSNP partisans were brought to courtrooms, found guilty and sentenced to lengthy prison terms.
Enter Abdel Hamid Sarraj, the dreaded head of Syria's military intelligence. Sarraj, a staunch Arab nationalist, ally of Nasser, and proponent of a union with Egypt, relentlessly hunted down Syria's anti-government conspirators, real and imagined. Sarraj out-maneuvered, persecuted, and jailed all political opposition, becoming an enormously powerful individual during this period. Sarraj's mission expands even beyond the scope of the Malki assassination, going on to search for other anti-Syrian conspirators.
Seale wrote:
"His accusations cut ruthlessly into the tangle of family patronage and local loyalties which make up much of the substructure of Syrian politics. Many of the men he put on trial bore respected names: Atasi, Ilyan, 'Ajlani, Atrash. They were also members of parliament, their immunity set aside by the state of emergency. They had in common their pro-Iraqi sympathies, their leanings towards the West, their traditionalism, their distaste for the extremes of nationalism. To Sarraj, they were all traitors."
The wider witch hunt that followed even led to the United States being blamed for trying to restore Shishakli to power. Well, the US did have to put the brakes on its own coup plot (Operation Straggle) when the October 1956 Suez Crisis threatened to steal the show. By the late 1950s, the political developments in Damascus brought about the final push that led to the establishment of the United Arab Republic, with Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser reluctantly at the helm. Unfolding in the background is the enduring contest of the Cold War competition between the United States and the Soviet Union, as well as the efforts of some Syrian factions to keep their country neutral.
The Struggle for Syria is an essential book to take readers back through the early years of Syria's independence and the figures who lorded over the country's politics during this fraught time. It provides key insights into the Baath, once an avand-garde political movement that was underground and its activities banned. The party eventually moved from a civilian-dominated group toward a military-dominant one. This experience in part led the Baath towards becoming the vehicle of two authoritarian juggernauts down the road.
Seale also details how the regional countries both courted and feared Syria's internal dynamics and sought to engage and control it. Central to this notion is the tug-of-war between Nasser's Egypt and the British-sponsored Iraq headed by Nuri al-Said. Priceless interviews with Michel Aflaq, Salah ad-Din Bitar, Shawkat Shuqayr, Khalid al-Azm, and Nazim al-Qudsi — important political figures now long gone from the scene — all provide an essential glimpse into the regional struggle that unfolded during the thirteen years covered in Seale's work.
This is an old-school political history book without all the bells and whistles you see these days. Struggle is not loaded with academic jargon but is deeply informed and written with the accessibility and precision of a journalist. If you like this type of political history, Seale's writing, insightful narrative, and skilled analysis is a crucial work for anyone hoping to understand Syria and the history of the modern Middle East. Struggle is a book that will always sit with a certain quiet pride on my shelf of Middle East history.
October 15, 2021
This must be the third or fourth time reading this one, and I'm surprised at how few reviews it has, perhaps a testament to its old-school awesomeness, for Seale's still-seminal work on post-war Syria is one of those much-missed straightforward histories free of smug self-aware jargon and nicheyness.
The work covers the twisted tangle of the period spanning 1945 to the union with Egypt in '58. Yes, they were briefly the same country. If you want to know why, and want to understand the foundations of Syria as a country in its own right, you'll do no better to start here. Syrian politics in the early years of independence was faction- and -notable-riven but the military and Ba'athists emerged out of this period, so it is worth the often confusing slog to tease out all the strands of Syrianists, Greater Syrianists, Arab nationalists, socialists, Ba'athists, Communists (first Commie elected was in Syria, Kurdish guy!), Nasserists, and so on. Seale had many ins in Syria and got some good material for his works despite most of the archival material being unavailable.
This would probably be the best place to start if you're interested in Syria.
The work covers the twisted tangle of the period spanning 1945 to the union with Egypt in '58. Yes, they were briefly the same country. If you want to know why, and want to understand the foundations of Syria as a country in its own right, you'll do no better to start here. Syrian politics in the early years of independence was faction- and -notable-riven but the military and Ba'athists emerged out of this period, so it is worth the often confusing slog to tease out all the strands of Syrianists, Greater Syrianists, Arab nationalists, socialists, Ba'athists, Communists (first Commie elected was in Syria, Kurdish guy!), Nasserists, and so on. Seale had many ins in Syria and got some good material for his works despite most of the archival material being unavailable.
This would probably be the best place to start if you're interested in Syria.
May 19, 2016
بحث مرموق جدًا، صدمت وأنا أقرأ أشياء لم أكن أتخيل أنها موجودة في تاريخنا
باتريك سيل من أشهر الكتاب الغربيين الذين كتبوا عن الشرق الأوسط وهو متخصص بدراسات الشرق الأوسط
يكتب سبيل بدقة وبلغة سليمة، سليمة جدًا بصراحة، أكثر من كثير من العرب
الكتاب لا غنى عنه لمن يهمه معرفة التاريخ
باتريك سيل من أشهر الكتاب الغربيين الذين كتبوا عن الشرق الأوسط وهو متخصص بدراسات الشرق الأوسط
يكتب سبيل بدقة وبلغة سليمة، سليمة جدًا بصراحة، أكثر من كثير من العرب
الكتاب لا غنى عنه لمن يهمه معرفة التاريخ
July 24, 2021
ربما يكون من أهم الدراسات التي تناولت تاريخ سوريا منذ الاستقلال حتى الوحدة مع مصر، في بحث رصين وعميق وموضوعي إلى حد كبير من باتريك سيل قبل أن يتحول لمروج لسياسات الدكتاتور حافظ الأسد وكاتبا في بلاطه. ما يميز الكتاب اعتماد مؤلفه على سلسلة من الشهادات والآراء التي قدمها المنخرطون في الشأن السوري بشكل مباشر، أمثال ميشيل عفلق والحوراني وغيرهم، ورغم تركيزه على دور البعث واليسار عموما إلا أنه لم يكن يظهر ميلا لهم وكان موضوعيا في طرحه. معظم فصول الكتاب مميزة، لكن الأفضل بالنسبة إلي كان الفصل الأخير، الذي عرض فيه تحليله لتوجه البعث نحو الوحدة والضرر الكبير الذي خلفته الوحدة على سوريا!
September 25, 2018
لمن يريد أن يطلع على سورية في تلك الأيام التي كان لدينا فيها سياسة بكل ما لكلمة سياسة من معنى. حين كانت هنالك أحزاب وروح سياسية ورجالات سياسة واسعي المعرفة ومخضرمين بالعمل السياسي والدبلوماسي، حين كانت سورية أم السياسة العربية. لمن يريد أن يعرف أهمية سورية ومن هي سورية؟
October 23, 2020
كلمتين فقط
كل مهتم بتاريخ سوريا الحديث لازم يمر على هذا الكتاب لانو اصدق من كل السوريين الي كتبو عن الفترة التاريخية
كل مهتم بتاريخ سوريا الحديث لازم يمر على هذا الكتاب لانو اصدق من كل السوريين الي كتبو عن الفترة التاريخية
November 16, 2016
دراسة للسياسة العربية بعد الحرب (1945-1958)
يُقسّم المؤرخون تاريخ سوريا، ما بعد الاستقلال، إلى مراحل ثلاث رئيسية: أولها مرحلة ما قبل الوحدة (بين عامي 1945-1958) وثانيها مرحلة الوحدة والانفصال حتى عام 1963، والمرحلة الثالثة هي ما تلا ذلك.
وفي كتابه “الصراع على سوريا” يعالج الصحفي باتريك سيل، المرحلة الأولى من مراحل تاريخ سوريا بأكبر قدر من الحيادية، بعد أن أقام بمكتب في بيروت مع فريق من الباحثين لجمع وتنسيق وتحليل المعلومات المتوافرة عن تلك المرحلة، بترشيح من دائرة الشرق ال��وسط بجامعة أوكسفورد.
تُرجم الكتاب للغة العربية وطبع للمرة الأولى عام 1968، ويقع فيما يزيد عن 430 صفحة من القطع المتوسط من نشر دار طلاس، ويتناول فيها اثني عشر عامًا مترعة بالنشاط السياسي في سوريا، ولعلّها الجذور المؤسسة لكل ما يمرّ به العرب اليوم، إذ أتيح فيها لهم ممارسة سياسة مستقلة عن المستعمر للمرة الأولى.
ويقول باتريك في المقدمة إن “هذا الكتاب ليس مع أي زعيم عربي أو ضده، مع أي حزب أو دولة أو مبدأ أو ضدها، فقد أردت أن أفسر وأكشف ماضي بعض المشكلات المعاصرة”.
اعتمد سيل على ما توفر له من تقارير صحفية وإذاعية، وعلى مقابلات شخصية مع بعض من السياسيين الوارد ذكرهم في الكتاب، مثل ميشيل عفلق وعصام العطار وشكري القوتلي وغيرهم الكثير.
وينقسم الكتاب إلى 23 فصلًا، يبدأها بذكر الأهمية الاستراتيجية لسوريا، أو ما أسماها “مرآة المصالح المتنافسة على المستوى الدولي”، والمحاولات الحثيثة للسيطرة عليها بصورة الوحدة بعد استقلالها، كالهاشميين الذين تمثلت رغبتهم بمحاولات الملك حسين وابنه فيصل بمشروع الهلال الخصيب، ومحاولات العراق الحثيثة لمشروع وحدة يضمن له قيادة الشرق، “فمن يريد أن يقود الشرق الأوسط، لا بد له من السيطرة على سوريا”، بحسب باتريك.
يتدرج الكتاب بعدها لذكر الأحزاب السياسية على الساحة السورية آنذاك بالتفصيل، تأسيسًا ومنهجًا وعقيدة وأداءً سياسيًا، كالوطنيين القدامى والحزب القومي والحزب الشيوعي وحزب البعث وسواها، متناولًا الانقلابات في فترة تميزت بالنشاط السياسي والتقلب المستمر وعدم الاستقرار، إلى حد الوصول لأول انتخابات حرة عام 1954. ويتابع في ذكر الظروف والمصالح المتشابكة التي أدت لولادة الوحدة السورية المصرية وهو ما يختتم به باتريك الكتاب.
الكتاب إذن عبارة عن بحث تاريخي قيّم لمرحلة مهمة في تاريخ سوريا، يعطي قارئه قدرة أكبر على فهم ما جرى بعد ذلك حتى اللحظة.
رابط مراجعتي على عنب بلدي http://www.enabbaladi.org/archives/77032
يُقسّم المؤرخون تاريخ سوريا، ما بعد الاستقلال، إلى مراحل ثلاث رئيسية: أولها مرحلة ما قبل الوحدة (بين عامي 1945-1958) وثانيها مرحلة الوحدة والانفصال حتى عام 1963، والمرحلة الثالثة هي ما تلا ذلك.
وفي كتابه “الصراع على سوريا” يعالج الصحفي باتريك سيل، المرحلة الأولى من مراحل تاريخ سوريا بأكبر قدر من الحيادية، بعد أن أقام بمكتب في بيروت مع فريق من الباحثين لجمع وتنسيق وتحليل المعلومات المتوافرة عن تلك المرحلة، بترشيح من دائرة الشرق ال��وسط بجامعة أوكسفورد.
تُرجم الكتاب للغة العربية وطبع للمرة الأولى عام 1968، ويقع فيما يزيد عن 430 صفحة من القطع المتوسط من نشر دار طلاس، ويتناول فيها اثني عشر عامًا مترعة بالنشاط السياسي في سوريا، ولعلّها الجذور المؤسسة لكل ما يمرّ به العرب اليوم، إذ أتيح فيها لهم ممارسة سياسة مستقلة عن المستعمر للمرة الأولى.
ويقول باتريك في المقدمة إن “هذا الكتاب ليس مع أي زعيم عربي أو ضده، مع أي حزب أو دولة أو مبدأ أو ضدها، فقد أردت أن أفسر وأكشف ماضي بعض المشكلات المعاصرة”.
اعتمد سيل على ما توفر له من تقارير صحفية وإذاعية، وعلى مقابلات شخصية مع بعض من السياسيين الوارد ذكرهم في الكتاب، مثل ميشيل عفلق وعصام العطار وشكري القوتلي وغيرهم الكثير.
وينقسم الكتاب إلى 23 فصلًا، يبدأها بذكر الأهمية الاستراتيجية لسوريا، أو ما أسماها “مرآة المصالح المتنافسة على المستوى الدولي”، والمحاولات الحثيثة للسيطرة عليها بصورة الوحدة بعد استقلالها، كالهاشميين الذين تمثلت رغبتهم بمحاولات الملك حسين وابنه فيصل بمشروع الهلال الخصيب، ومحاولات العراق الحثيثة لمشروع وحدة يضمن له قيادة الشرق، “فمن يريد أن يقود الشرق الأوسط، لا بد له من السيطرة على سوريا”، بحسب باتريك.
يتدرج الكتاب بعدها لذكر الأحزاب السياسية على الساحة السورية آنذاك بالتفصيل، تأسيسًا ومنهجًا وعقيدة وأداءً سياسيًا، كالوطنيين القدامى والحزب القومي والحزب الشيوعي وحزب البعث وسواها، متناولًا الانقلابات في فترة تميزت بالنشاط السياسي والتقلب المستمر وعدم الاستقرار، إلى حد الوصول لأول انتخابات حرة عام 1954. ويتابع في ذكر الظروف والمصالح المتشابكة التي أدت لولادة الوحدة السورية المصرية وهو ما يختتم به باتريك الكتاب.
الكتاب إذن عبارة عن بحث تاريخي قيّم لمرحلة مهمة في تاريخ سوريا، يعطي قارئه قدرة أكبر على فهم ما جرى بعد ذلك حتى اللحظة.
رابط مراجعتي على عنب بلدي http://www.enabbaladi.org/archives/77032
August 28, 2011
Brilliant summary of a critical period in the history of the Middle East. Seale deftly balances Syrian political intrigue with the effects of outside influences. The perfect book to get this reader on the right track for an MA in Middle East Studies.
October 8, 2012
one of the best books you may read about struggle in Syria
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