Politics of Syria - Background

Background

Hafiz al-Asad took power in 1970, and after his death in 2000 was succeeded by his son, Bashar al-Asad. Totaling the years makes it the second longest ruling government in the Arab world after Muammar Gaddafi's. The government's survival is due partly to a strong desire for stability and its success in giving groups such as religious minorities and peasant farmers a stake in society. The expansion of the government bureaucracy has also created a large class loyal to the government. The President's continuing strength is due also to the army's continued loyalty and the effectiveness of Syria's large internal security apparatus, the top leaderships of which are largely made up of members of Asad's own Alawi sect. The several main branches of the security services operate independently of each other and outside the legal system. Each continues to be responsible for human rights violations.

There was a surge of interest in political reform after Bashar al-Asad assumed power in 2000. Human rights activists and other civil society advocates, as well as some Parliamentarians, became more outspoken during a period referred to as "Damascus Spring" (July 2000-February 2001). Asad also made a series of appointments of reform-minded advisors to formal and less formal positions, and included a number of similarly oriented individuals in his Cabinet. The arrest and long-term detention of two reformist Parliamentarians, Ma’mun al-Humsy and Riad Seif, in August and September 2001, respectively, and the apparent marginalizing of some of the reformist advisors in the past four years, indicate that the pace of any political reform in Syria is likely to be much slower than the short-lived Damascus Spring promised.