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Review
'[A] monumental work on Syrian power politics' --Robert Fisk, The Independent
'An excellent book' --Patrick Seale
'An admirable study… invaluable for anyone with a serious interest in Middle Eastern politics' --Peter Mansfield
'An excellent book' --Patrick Seale
'An admirable study… invaluable for anyone with a serious interest in Middle Eastern politics' --Peter Mansfield
Review
'[A] monumental work on Syrian power politics' - Robert Fisk, The Independent; 'An excellent book' - Patrick Seale; 'An admirable study - invaluable for anyone with a serious interest in Middle Eastern politics' - Peter Mansfield; 'The most informative explanation of the effects of sectarianism and regionalism on Syrian politics' - Philip S. Khoury, MERIP Reports; '[An] excellent study of the sectarian bases of Syrian politics' - Foreign Affairs; 'Only a handful of important books have been written on modern Syria; and Nikolaos van Dam's The Struggle for Power in Syria is one of them' - Joshua Landis, International Journal of Middle East Studies
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase
This book is quite short, which is just as well because it is written in a style which seems pedantic, making me think the author was steeped in Syrian politics to a degree that he did not wish or perhaps even feel in his heart to cause any offence to any parties. He works hard not to take sides.
Short it may be, but the author has read extensively documentation in several languages including many lengthy sets of memoirs in Arabic. The final chapter summarizes his views of some of these memoirs, and is well worth reading.
This book focuses mainly on the rise to power of Hafiz al Asad (Assad senior) and suggests that through the sixties and seventies the power of the Assad dynasty (my word not his) was established at times with great brutality, but Van Dam seems to come to the same conclusion reached by Patrick Seale in his excellent biography of Assad, that if Assad wanted to stay in power he had no choice.
The tale of this book is the rivalry between tribal and religious groups, most especially the Sunni majority and Alawi, Druze and Christian minorities.
Interestingly, when the French were in power in the first half of the twentieth century the Sunni elite disdained military careers, they did not want to be French lackeys. Others, like the Alawis from Latakia, on the Mediterranean coast north of Lebanon, were relatively uneducated and from rural areas, and had no choice. So when the French left their military strength was an advantage, and eventually they formed a ruling elite.
What Van Dam says, however, was that sectarian politics was to some extent forced on them because the different sociological, religious and tribal groups had different interests, that was just the way it went.
This book says very little, except in passing about Syria's relations with Israel, Egypt, the US. If you want to know about all that read Seale's book first.
Short it may be, but the author has read extensively documentation in several languages including many lengthy sets of memoirs in Arabic. The final chapter summarizes his views of some of these memoirs, and is well worth reading.
This book focuses mainly on the rise to power of Hafiz al Asad (Assad senior) and suggests that through the sixties and seventies the power of the Assad dynasty (my word not his) was established at times with great brutality, but Van Dam seems to come to the same conclusion reached by Patrick Seale in his excellent biography of Assad, that if Assad wanted to stay in power he had no choice.
The tale of this book is the rivalry between tribal and religious groups, most especially the Sunni majority and Alawi, Druze and Christian minorities.
Interestingly, when the French were in power in the first half of the twentieth century the Sunni elite disdained military careers, they did not want to be French lackeys. Others, like the Alawis from Latakia, on the Mediterranean coast north of Lebanon, were relatively uneducated and from rural areas, and had no choice. So when the French left their military strength was an advantage, and eventually they formed a ruling elite.
What Van Dam says, however, was that sectarian politics was to some extent forced on them because the different sociological, religious and tribal groups had different interests, that was just the way it went.
This book says very little, except in passing about Syria's relations with Israel, Egypt, the US. If you want to know about all that read Seale's book first.
a very good book to understand the era that made syria during the 60s, until the start of the 70s. This era made Assad Family in Power until today.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
2 reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Syria history
6 Jan 2012
Amazon Verified Purchase
Somewhat difficult to read because of the unfamiliar names, the book is worth reading because it provides the reader the background and political history of how Syria came to be the country that it is today. Am able to understand how and why the nonviolent struggle exists today as well as the disparity throughout the country.
Internal Syrian Politics in the Time of Assad Senior
6 April 2012
This book is quite short, which is just as well because it is written in a style which seems pedantic, making me think the author was steeped in Syrian politics to a degree that he did not wish or perhaps even feel in his heart to cause any offence to any parties. He works hard not to take sides.
Short it may be, but the author has read extensively documentation in several languages including many lengthy sets of memoirs in Arabic. The final chapter summarizes his views of some of these memoirs, and is well worth reading.
This book focuses mainly on the rise to power of Hafiz al Asad (Assad senior) and suggests that through the sixties and seventies the power of the Assad dynasty (my word not his) was established at times with great brutality, but Van Dam seems to come to the same conclusion reached by Patrick Seale in his excellent biography of Assad, that if Assad wanted to stay in power he had no choice.
The tale of this book is the rivalry between tribal and religious groups, most especially the Sunni majority and Alawi, Druze and Christian minorities.
Interestingly, when the French were in power in the first half of the twentieth century the Sunni elite disdained military careers, they did not want to be French lackeys. Others, like the Alawis from Latakia, on the Mediterranean coast north of Lebanon, were relatively uneducated and from rural areas, and had no choice. So when the French left their military strength was an advantage, and eventually they formed a ruling elite.
What Van Dam says, however, was that sectarian politics was to some extent forced on them because the different sociological, religious and tribal groups had different interests, that was just the way it went.
This book says very little, except in passing about Syria's relations with Israel, Egypt, the US. If you want to know about all that read Seale's book first.
Short it may be, but the author has read extensively documentation in several languages including many lengthy sets of memoirs in Arabic. The final chapter summarizes his views of some of these memoirs, and is well worth reading.
This book focuses mainly on the rise to power of Hafiz al Asad (Assad senior) and suggests that through the sixties and seventies the power of the Assad dynasty (my word not his) was established at times with great brutality, but Van Dam seems to come to the same conclusion reached by Patrick Seale in his excellent biography of Assad, that if Assad wanted to stay in power he had no choice.
The tale of this book is the rivalry between tribal and religious groups, most especially the Sunni majority and Alawi, Druze and Christian minorities.
Interestingly, when the French were in power in the first half of the twentieth century the Sunni elite disdained military careers, they did not want to be French lackeys. Others, like the Alawis from Latakia, on the Mediterranean coast north of Lebanon, were relatively uneducated and from rural areas, and had no choice. So when the French left their military strength was an advantage, and eventually they formed a ruling elite.
What Van Dam says, however, was that sectarian politics was to some extent forced on them because the different sociological, religious and tribal groups had different interests, that was just the way it went.
This book says very little, except in passing about Syria's relations with Israel, Egypt, the US. If you want to know about all that read Seale's book first.
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