Commanding Syria
Bashar Al-Asad and the First Years in Power
1st Edition
Published on 25. April 2007
240 pages
978-0-85771-151-9 (ISBN)
Description
When Basher al-Asad became President of Syria in June 2000, he had a tough act to follow. A quiet, unassuming opthalmologist, trained in Britain, young Asad was successor to his dynamic, wily father Hafiz, who had consolidated power in his ethnically diverse and politically restive state through personal charisma, brute force and political balancing acts. Now, some years after Basher's succession and with mounting international pressure for political and economical reform, his handling of the issues facing Syria raises serious questions for the future stability of the Middle East. This is the first major work on Basher al-Asad. It assesses the durability of Hafiz's legacy, including the influence of the old power-brokers, the effectiveness of Basher's attempts to move away from his father's shadow, and prospects for reform. Above all, it evaluates Basher's continuing hold on power following Syria's humiliating retreat from Lebanon in Spring 2005.
More details
Edition
1. Auflage
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
Professional and scholarly
ISBN-13
978-0-85771-151-9 (9780857711519)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
10/2006
I.B. Tauris
€193.13
Shipment within 3-4 weeks
Person
Eyal Zisser is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Middle East and African Studies and Research Fellow at the Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University. He is the author of Lebanon: The Challenge of Independence (I.B.Tauris, 2000).
Content
- Cover
- Table of Contents
- Preface
- Introduction: The legacy of the late leader
- Part I: Syria under Bashar
- 1. The road to the top
- 2. Taking the reins of power
- 3. Bashar al-Asad - the man and his regime
- Part II: Unfulfilled Hopes
- 4. A false spring in Damascus
- 5. Society and economy in the age of globalization
- Part III: Syrian foreign policy under Bashar
- 6. Bashar al-Asad in the international arena
- 7. Syria and Israel in Bashar's era
- 8. Syria in Lebanon - the end of an era?
- Conclusion: Why Bashar? Because there is no one else
- Epilogue: Will Bashar al-Asad survive in power?
- Notes
- Index
