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The time after World War II became unstable
and the unrest in the region had major repercussions on
Syrian domestic policy. When the state of Israel was
proclaimed in 1948, Syria along with other Arab
countries attacked. Disappointment over the Arab side's
defeat in the war was to some extent behind the three
coups that took place in Syria in 1949. More coups
followed in the 1950s, which led to Syria's policy to a
large extent dominated by the military.
In the early 1950s, the economy reached a bottom
position when the Customs Union with Lebanon disbanded
and an important trade route was thereby closed. The
economic problems led to increased dissatisfaction in
all classes of society. Different governments succeeded.
In the mid-1950s, the left parties began to receive
increased support in public opinion, especially the Arab
Nationalist and Socialist Baath Party and the Communist
Party. Radical politicians gradually came to occupy more
posts, and a number of agreements were concluded with
the Soviet Union and other communist countries.
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ABBREVIATIONFINDER:
List of most commonly used acronyms containing Syria. Also includes historical, economical and political aspects of the country.
In 1958, Egypt and Syria formed the United Arab
Republic, which would be a first step towards a larger
Arab community. However, the Union became only three
years old. Dissatisfaction with Egypt's dominant role
provoked a new coup and the union was dissolved. The
civilian government that took office after the coup was
also short-lived.
A new military coup in March 1963 brought the Baath
Party to power. After, among other things, rejecting a
new coup attempt, the Baath Party began to nationalize
banks and industries. A redistribution of land was
carried out, which shattered the foundations of the old
ruling elite of businessmen and landowners. Almost all
leading Baathist militants came from the countryside,
unlike the wealthy Sunni Muslim city families that had
previously ruled Syria. A large part of the Baathist
militias were Alawites (see Population) and the
influence of the religious minorities increased greatly
during this period, leading to protests from Sunni
Muslims who were neglected.
In 1967, growing tensions between the Arab states and
Israel triggered an Israeli attack on several Arab
countries. Syria lost the strategically important Golan
Heights in what came to be called the Six Day War.
 Hafiz al-Assad to power
After internal party disputes in the 1960s, a more
pragmatic bankruptcy within the Baath Party took power
in a coup in the fall of 1970. The leader was Defense
Minister Hafiz al-Assad, who was elected president the
following year. Over the next few years, he placed
friends and relatives, many of whom, like himself,
Alawites, on most important items within the security
apparatus.
Assad pursued a less purely socialist policy than its
representatives and gave the private sector a little
more room. Foreign policy involved close cooperation
with the Soviet Union, at the same time that Assad
repaired the broken relations with important Western
countries. Relations with other Arab states also
improved. In 1971, Syria together with Egypt and Libya
formed a short-lived federation.
Despite a certain softening of domestic politics, the
Baath Party and security services maintained strong
control over society. In order to broaden the
government's base, in 1972 Assad founded the National
Progressive Front consisting of the Baath Party and some
small nationalist and socialist parties. Thereafter,
Syria was formally ruled by the Front, but real power
was still with the Baath Party and, above all, with the
President himself. In 1973, the country gained its first
permanent constitution in many years, which established
the constitution of the Baath Party's government and the
almost unrestricted power of the president.
In October 1973, Syria, along with Egypt, attacked
Israel in an attempt to recapture lost territories in
the 1967 war. At the start of the so-called October war,
Syrian and Egyptian forces reached success, but the
Israelis went counter-offensive and took new ground. In
ceasefire negotiations organized by the United States,
Syria regained some of the Golan Heights and the war was
described in Syrian media as a victory.
Growth is increasing
To try to attract foreign investors, Assad chose to
liberalize the economy to a limited degree. Confidence
in Syria's economy increased, and growth reached new
heights in the second half of the 1970s. At the same
time, Syria received increased financial support from
oil-rich Arab countries after the October war, which
strengthened the budget but also led to wastage,
inefficiency and inflation. During the second half of
the 1970s, the economic upturn had stopped, prices rose
and conditions began to deteriorate. In 1976, Assad also
ordered a very unpopular intervention in Lebanon's civil
war (see Foreign Policy and Defense), which immediately
became another heavy financial burden.
In 1978, Assad was elected president for the second
time, in a referendum where he was once again the only
candidate. Increasing dissatisfaction with the
deteriorating economic conditions and growing corruption
and with the political dominance of the Alawites had
triggered armed attacks by Islamist groups. Assad's
security services cracked down on both the armed
movements and peaceful oppositionists with a very hard
hand. A spiral of violence began, which continued into
the early 1980s.
The opposition was channeled primarily through Sunni
Muslim organizations, but criticism also came from
intellectual groups and professional associations, which
in the spring of 1980 formed a loose alliance with
demands for free elections and an end to the exception
laws. The Muslim Brotherhood (see Political system),
which sought an Islamic state, was behind much of the
violence against the regime. The opposition was greatest
in cities where the traditional Sunni elite dominated,
and was supported by Iraq and Jordan, among others. In
February 1982, the Muslim Brotherhood led a multi-week
revolt in Hama that was brutally defeated by government
troops. Information on the number of people killed
varies greatly, but an often cited figure is around
10,000.
The rebellion in Hama was followed by a new
confrontation with Israel, which in the summer of 1982
entered Lebanon to expel the Palestinians from there and
at the same time attacked Syria's military installations
in the Lebanese Bekaa Valley. Hafiz al-Assad became
seriously ill in 1983. A brother of the president then
tried to seize power, but Hafiz al-Assad recovered and
sent his brother abroad. Syria was also hit by an
economic downturn in the 1980s, partly as a result of
falling oil prices and a three-year drought. Most times
were difficult for most Syrians, while the regime's
supporters retained their benefits and the corruption
persisted. Inflation was soaring. The difficulties
during the 1980s led to Assad's rule hardening and
security services becoming more influential.
Syria's decision to join the UN alliance in the
Kuwait War 1990-1991 became a turning point for the
country's economy. Oil prices rose sharply during the
war and, thanks to the aid, Syria received new loans and
assistance from western countries as well as from Saudi
Arabia and the other states around the Persian Gulf.
Gentle reforms
When communism in Central Europe and the Soviet Union
collapsed in 1989-1991, hopes of reform were also raised
in Syria. In the early 1990s, cautious economic reforms
were initiated, but political power was not disrupted.
Instead, Assad made sure to secure improved relations
with the Western world by accepting peace talks with
Israel and cooperating with the United States in the
Iraq war in 1991. This led Syria to secure more aid from
the rich states around the Gulf of Pes. The start of the
country's own oil production also helped to take the
country through the crisis years.
During the years 1991–1995, Syria had an average
growth of 7 percent per year, partly due to good
harvests, but by the end of the decade, growth had
halved. In 1999, the economy shrank due to low oil
prices and severe drought.
In the same year, Hafiz al-Assad was elected
president for a fifth seven-year term. Because of his
almost absolute power, it was long thought that one of
his sons would be appointed as successor. Elder son
Basil died in a traffic accident in 1994, which led to
the second oldest Bashar being called home from medical
studies in London, was given a military education and
was eventually allowed to take over parts of Syria's
foreign policy. With the help of the father, a younger
generation, expected to be loyal to the son, was given
several important positions in the armed forces,
intelligence agencies and a reorganized government. In
June 2000, the president died after a heart attack.
Although the dictatorship of Hafiz al-Assad had
created greater domestic political stability, the period
was marked by severe repression against all who were
considered to threaten the regime. The pace of economic
reform had stopped, even though the economy was now
inefficient and out of date and many Syrians were
suffering from the increasingly difficult conditions.
The enmity with Israel and the instability in the region
made it more difficult for al-Assad to relieve control
of the economy and politics, but it could also be used
as an excuse for not having to abolish the exception
laws and implement political reforms. In addition, the
government's abuses in the 1980s intensified the unrest
among many religious minorities so that Sunni Muslim
groups could demand revenge if the Alawite Assad family
was overthrown. It was forbidden to talk about religious
tensions in Syria,
Bashar al-Assad takes office
Following Hafiz al-Assad's death in June 2000, a
constitutional amendment was introduced that lowered the
minimum age for a president from 40 to 34 years, the age
of Bashar al-Assad. The Baath Party leadership appointed
Bashar as presidential candidate, and one month after
his father's death, he was elected president with 97
percent of the vote in a referendum. He had already been
promoted to commander-in-chief and party leader.
The new president aroused hopes of political and
economic reform. The atmosphere became more open;
Opponents in exile dared to return, many others were
released from prison, and advocates for civil rights
became more active. Reform friends were formed to form
informal networks and associations to discuss economic,
social and political problems. But the so-called
Damascus Spring was interrupted in 2001, when several
well-known reform friends were imprisoned.
During the 2000s, Syria's relations with the Western
world and several powerful Arab countries deteriorated -
especially after the Palestinian uprising against Israel
in 2001, the Iraq war in 2003 and the assassination of
opposition leader Rafiq al-Hariri in Lebanon in the
spring of 2005. The assassination of Hariri put Syria
under strong pressure from the UN and the Western
powers, who suspected that Syria and its allies in
Lebanon were behind the attack. The Syrian troops that
have been in Lebanon since 1976 were forced to leave the
country in the spring of 2005. In May 2007, the Security
Council decided to create an international court for the
Hariri assassination (see Lebanon: Modern History).
Assad's foreign policy problems encouraged the
opposition. In 2005, several opposition leaders signed
the so-called Damascus Declaration, a call for political
dialogue and reform. The government seemed worried about
foreign reactions and left the group, although it was
closely monitored. Former Foreign Minister and Deputy
President Abd al-Halim Khaddam, close friend of Rafiq
al-Hariri, went on a country escape in France during the
year, accusing President Assad of taking part in the
Hariri assassination. When the UN investigation was
underway, Syrian Interior Minister Ghazi Kenaan was
found dead, according to official information through
suicide. He had been a military security officer in
Lebanon for many years.
Strengthened position
In the following years, Syria's position in the
Middle East again improved as the United States sought
Syria's support to curb violence in Iraq and Assad once
again strengthened its role in Lebanon, especially after
a short Israeli-Lebanese war in the summer of 2006. At
the end of 00- In the century, Assad reconnected with
several of the states that broke with him because of the
Iraq war or the Hariri assassination, like the United
States and Saudi Arabia. Lebanese politicians who
protested against Syria's influence were then forced to
travel to Damascus and publicly apologize.
As the threat to the government erupted, Assad began
to hit harder on the small opposition movement that had
been partially tolerated for a couple of years. The
Damascus Declaration split during 2007-2008 after
several leaders were jailed and others dropped out.
Security services also increased the pressure on
conservative Islamic groups, and seized both extremists
with ties to al-Qaeda and peaceful ministers.
In the April 2007 parliamentary elections, the ruling
Baath Party and its allies again won a majority of the
vote. Shortly thereafter, Bashar al-Assad was appointed
president for another term in office.
The following years were characterized by faster
economic reform rates, with privatizations and cuts, not
least because Syria began to face serious economic
problems. Agriculture was suffering from droughts and
the oil wells had begun.
The will to reform did not break through at the
political level. The regime continued to persecute and
imprison its critics. Assad was thus able to strengthen
his position, while the opposition remained weak and
deeply divided.
The Arab Spring
Inspired by the uprising against authoritarian rule
in the Middle East and North Africa during the so-called
Arab Spring of 2011, Syrians also began to demonstrate
reforms. In the city of Daraa in the south, peaceful
protest marches were held which were forcefully defeated
by the government. This triggered solidarity
demonstrations in other localities in the country. From
April, the situation worsened and hundreds of civilians
were killed as the regime deployed tanks and army
soldiers against the protesters. Syria's religious
minorities mainly joined the government at the same time
as Assad lost support within the Sunni Muslim majority,
which led to growing religious polarization.
Despite continued violence and arrests on the part of
the regime, many Syrians continued to demonstrate,
especially in poor Sunni urban neighborhoods and in
rural areas. Armed resistance against Assad began to
gain momentum during the summer, especially after a
group of Sunni desert deserters formed a militant group
called the Free Syrian Army in July 2011.
In response to the acts of violence, the US and the
EU in 2011 imposed arms embargo and personally targeted
sanctions against Assad and his closest men, while
US-allied states such as Qatar and Turkey began to
support armed rebels inside Syria. In the summer of
2012, the battles reached the major cities of Damascus
and Aleppo. At the same time, the government forces left
the Kurdish-dominated areas in the north and instead
focused on fighting rebel groups in other parts of the
country. Islamist groups began to play a more
significant role among the Sunni rebels, which remained
divided.
The fighting worsened during the fall as the uprising
grew and the government deployed heavier weapons,
including artillery, helicopters and bombers.
Neighboring countries are withdrawn
In the spring of 2013, the conflict began to
seriously spill over to neighboring countries. Shelling
took place across the border with Turkey and Israel and
Lebanon were plagued by fierce tensions between Sunni
Muslims who supported the rebels and Shi'ites who
supported Assad. The Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah militia
went over the border on a large scale to support Assad's
forces, which changed the strength of relations along
the Lebanese border to the government's advantage.
In August 2013, the situation intensified when the
regime was accused of using large-scale chemical weapons
against rebel-controlled areas outside Damascus. The
United States threatened with flight attacks, but was
persuaded by Russia to allow the International Chemical
Weapons Surveillance Agency (OPCW) to handle and destroy
Syria's nuclear weapons. Assad accepted the proposal,
which was implemented in 2013 and 2014.
Turkey has continued to act for its interests, mainly
through military offensive and threats to
Kurdish-controlled areas in the north. Israel has also
attacked Syrian targets. Both major powers Russia and
the United States are engaged, Russia assists Assad
while the United States supports the Kurdish forces in
the north. Iran supports the Assad regime, even
militarily. Lebanon and Jordan are not least affected by
refugee flows from Syria. Political leaders from Syria
have fled the country.
Read more in Current Politics and Calendar.
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