Power and Policy in Syria

As Bashar al-Asad rescinds emergency rule in the face of demonstrations and protests, Syria finds itself in a key position in a Middle East beset by regional tensions, the repercussions of the global 'war on terror' and popular uprisings. The bloodless coup by General Hafez al-Assad, in 1970, put in place a powerful autocratic machinery at the core of the state which continues till today under the control of his son Bashar. Here Radwan Ziadeh presents a fresh and penetrating analysis of Syria's political structure - a 'despotic' state monopoly, a bureaucratic climate marked by fear, and the administrative structure through which centralized control is exercised. With a focus on Syria's intelligence services which have significant influence in legal and policy decisions, and the conditions and patterns of foreign policy decision-making, particularly vis-a-vis the US, 'Power and Policy in Syria' is essential reading for all those interested in Syria, the modern Middle East, International Relations and Security Studies.

Radwan Ziadeh is a Visiting Scholar at Lehigh University, Pennsylvania and was formerly with the Carr Centre for Human Rights at Harvard University. He is the founding director of the Syrian Centre for Political and Strategic Studies in Washington D.C and has been a Senior Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace. He is the recipient of the MESA Academic Freedom Award (2009

Introduction
1. Birth of the Third Republic and Establishing Syrian Authoritarianism
2. Inheriting Syria from Father to Son: Hafez al-Asad's Last Days
3. Damascus Spring: The Rise of the Opposition in Syria
4. Bashar al-Asad and Foreign Policy
5. The Challenge of Political Islam: Muslim Brotherhood and Democracy
Notes
Bibliography
Index