Suchergebnisse

« Today Syria is a country known for all the wrong reasons: civil war, vicious sectarianism, and major humanitarian crisis. But how did this once rich, multi-cultural society end up as the site of one of the twenty-first century's most devastating and brutal conflicts? In this incisive book, internationally renowned Syria expert David Lesch takes the reader on an illuminating journey through the last hundred years of Syrian history – from the end of the Ottoman empire through to the current civil war. The Syria he reveals is a fractured mosaic, whose identity (or lack thereof) has played a crucial part in its trajectory over the past century. Only once the complexities and challenges of Syria's history are understood can this pivotal country in the Middle East begin to rebuild and heal. « (Verlagsbeschreibung)

The intellectual and physical setting -- Competing peoples and ideologies -- The convergence -- The Palestine mandate -- Independence and al-Nakba -- Cold wars and the Middle East matrix -- The earthquake -- The road to 1979 -- Mutual fallouts: Lebanon and the Arab-Israeli conflict -- A decade of hope -- Breakdown... -- ...and reconstruction?

We have learned time and again in history that arming opposition forces, while improving their chances in the near term, can militarize and divide a society in ways detrimental to its recovery.

"Syria's President Bashar al-Asad is widely seen today as a bloodthirsty tyrant in the wake of the over year-long brutal government crackdown against the uprising in his country. This is a far cry from the hope many had for him when he came to power in 2000 upon the death of his father, Hafiz al-Asad. He was seen as a young, pro-Western modernizing reformer, a profile quite apart from his taciturn father. Therefore, the disappointment in him and his regime's security solution to the uprising, rather than adequately meeting the demands for reform, has been profound. But this is for the most part a misreading of the Syrian president's view of the world and how he and his regime cohorts see and assess the nature of threat. Bashar al-Asad is part and parcel of the stultifying and inert Syrian system, one that is geared to convulsively react to perceived domestic and foreign danger. To expect that spending 18 months in London getting an advanced degree in ophthalmology would have a deeper influence on al-Asad's world-view rather than living amid and experiencing the Arab-Israeli conflict, the superpower cold war, the tumult in Lebanon, and the rule of his father during the better part of his life was innately wrong. In this essay the author, an American scholar specializing in Syria and who met Bashar alAsad on a regular basis between 2004 and 2009, offers a view of the Syrian president and the Syrian system in which he operates. In doing so, the rationale for the Syrian regime's violent crackdown against protestors, its resilience, and its commitment to eradicating dissent becomes more readily apparent. As such, the Paranoia, suspicion, and determination of the Syrian leadership to remain in power will most likely lead to a continuation - and potential deterioration - of the crisis in Syria. Bashar al-Asad emerged from and is acting in a completely different reality than most can comprehend. A better understanding of this reality will help those outside of Syria to more appropriately assess and respond to Syrian policies." (author's abstract)