The Struggle for Power in Syria : Politics and Society Under Asad and the Ba'th Party

In the midst of turmoil in the Middle East, and in the face of protests and demonstrations from Homs to Damascus and other places all over Syria, the Ba'th Party and Bashar al-Asad are truly caught up in a struggle to hold onto power in Syria. In this important book, Nikolaos van Dam explores and explains how the Asad dynasty has come to rule Syria for about half a century and keep the complex patchwork of minorities, factions and opponents securely under control for such an unprecedented long period. Through an in-depth examination of the role of sectarian, regional and tribal loyalties, van Dam traces developments within the Ba'th party and the military and civilian power elite from the 1963 Ba'thist takeover up to the present day. --Bloomsbury Publishing. Preface -- Chapter 1: Introduction -- Chapter 2: The rise of minorities in the Syrian armed forces and in the Ba'th Party -- Chapter 3: Sectarian polarisation in the Syrian armed forces between Sunnis and religious minorities -- Chapter 4: The purge of Druze officers in the Syrian armed forces -- Chapter 5: The struggle for power within the Alawi community -- Chapter 6: Sectarian and regional factionalism in the Syrian political elite: a statistical analysis -- Chapter 7: Sectarian provocation and confrontation -- Chapter 8: Sectarian showdown: eradication of the Muslim Brotherhood -- Chapter 9: The power elite under Hafiz al-Asad -- Chapter 10: Conclusions -- Chapter 11: Syrian Ba'thist memoirs This classic study of politics and society in modern Syria explains the factors that enabled the regime of Hafiz al-Asad to stay in power much longer than any other since independence. Through an in-depth examination of the role of sectarian, regional and tribal loyalties, van Dam traces developments within the Ba'th Party and the military and civilian power elite from the 1963 Ba'thist takeover up to the present day Nikolaos Van Dam. Previous Ed.: 1996. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.