Katarzyna KRÓKOWSKA

2317

The Fall of Democracy in Syria

This paper analyses social, economic and political factors during the years between Syria’s independence 1946 and its unification with Egypt 1958 that led to the fall of democracy. Despite the achievements of hardwon sovereignty and the establishment of liberal institutions following 1946, the country faced numerous obstacles to democratic consolidation. Bitter social conflicts, aggravated by a deep sense of insecurity among the Syrian population, in combination with economic disparities and military intervention, led to the destabilization of the state. During its formative years, the country was not immune to anti-colonial and social unrest and Cold War rivalries. As a means to overcome these challenges, the young democracy embarked on a path of defensive modernization elevating the army to political power. In order to identify the reasons behind the fall of Syria’s democracy, this paper analyses factors such as: social conflict, institutional weakness, the rise of radical parties, the politicization of the military and the role of an unfavorable external environment. The essay draws attention to changes in class such as the weakening of Syria’s liberal elites whose legitimacy diminished as they failed to meet the challenges posed by late industrialization and foreign competition. Particular importance is attributed to the birth of a new middle class, radicalized by political parties directed against oligarchy and imperialism. This paper assumes that the democratic breakdown in Syria can be seen as a consequence of both internal developments and external pressures.
Keywords:

Democratic breakdown, post-independence Syria, United Arab Republic, defensive modernization political legitimacy.,

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  • Juan J. Linz and Alfred Stepan, “Toward Consolidated Democracies”, Journal of Democracy, Vol.7, No.2 (April 1996), pp.14 -33.
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  • Bill and Springbord term as a process of ‘defensive modernisation’ cited in Mohamad G. Alkadry, “Reciting Colonial Scripts: Colonialism, Globalization and Democracy in the Decolonized Middle East”, Administrative Theory & Praxis, Vol. 24, No. 4 (December 2002), pp. 739-762.
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  • Sadowski, Political Power and Economic Organization in Syria, p.4. 37 Ibid.
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  • Chaitani, Post-Colonial Syria and Lebanon, p.55.
  • Moubayed, Damascus Between Democracy and Dictatorship, pp.11-25
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  • Seale, The Struggle for Syria, p. 124. 44 Ibid, p.304.
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  • Richard Norton and Ali Alfoneh, “The Study of Civil-Military Relations and Civil-Society in the Middle East and North Africa”, in Carsten Jensen (ed.), Civil-Military Relations in the Middle East, Copanhagen, Royal Danish Defence College, 2008, p.13.
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  • Patrick Seale poised this argument in his introduction to Youssef Chaitani’s book, See, Chaitani, Post- Colonial Syria and Lebanon, p. XII.
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  • Moubayed, Damascus Between Democracy and Dictatorship, p. VII.
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  • Seale, The Struggle for Syria, p.250. 56 Ibid., p.244. 57 Ibid., 319.
  • Moubayed, Damascus Between Democracy and Dictatorship, p.136.
  • Seale, The Struggle for Syria, p.324. 60 Ibid., p.307. 61 Ibid., p.170.
  • Halpern, The Politics of Social Change in the Middle East and North Africa, p.291.
  • Joas, War and Modernity, p.47.
  • Norton and Alfoneh, “The Study of Civil-Military Relations”, p.7.
  • Linz and Stepan, Toward Consolidated Democracies, pp.14 -33.
PERCEPTIONS: Journal of International Affairs-Cover
  • ISSN: 1300-8641
  • Yayın Aralığı: Yılda 2 Sayı
  • Başlangıç: 1996
  • Yayıncı: T.C Dışişleri Bakanlığı
Arşiv
Sayıdaki Diğer Makaleler

H Sönmez ATEŞOĞLU

Cengiz DİNÇ

Mark FITZPATRICK

Nurşin Ateşoğlu GÜNEY

Andrea ELLNER

Katarzyna KRÓKOWSKA