[PDF] Asad In Search Of Legitimacy eBook

Author : Mordechai Kedar
Publisher :
Page : 302 pages
File Size : 28,27 MB
Release : 2006-11
Category : History
ISBN : 9781845191856

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The Syrian regime, ruled by the Ba'th socialist party and headed by presidents from the 'Alawi minority, faces problems of legitimacy vis-Ã -vis its people, which it tackles through powerful security organizations and the state media. The government media machine exists to express the regime's viewpoint in both local and external spheres, and to promote acceptance of the legitimacy of Asad's presidency and government. The media also attempts to mobilize the masses to act in the service of the state by disseminating information which reflects Asad's position on current issues. The organs of the regime - army, party, security services, national and local authorities - are proclaimed as acting by order of the president. While personal commitment to the legitimacy of Hafiz al-Asad is the principal "article of faith", this message is supported by complementary messages - Asad being true to the Moslem faith; Asad as historic leader; Asad as the focus of identity of all Syrian citizens; the "crimes" of the Moslem Brotherhood, etc. - and vociferous political discourse.

Author : Mordechai Kedar
Publisher : Liverpool University Press
Page : 328 pages
File Size : 18,53 MB
Release : 2005
Category : History
ISBN :

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This text offers and analysis of the political domestic message of the Syrian Press.

Author : Mark M. Huber
Publisher :
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 28,25 MB
Release : 1992
Category : Syria
ISBN :

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It has, been taken for granted that Hafez al-Asad relies exclusively upon an iron fist to perpetuate the survival of his regime. Close scrutiny of Asad's presidency, however, betrays the inadequacy of this explanation. In fact, Syria's conflict with Israel is the primary legitimizing agent for Asad's minority-Alawi regime, and it is because of this conflict that Asad's regime has endured. Consequently, the absence of a militant confrontation with Israel poses risks which the present Syrian leadership has been unwilling to assume. Furthermore, this condition acts as a restraint upon certain types of foreign policy activities and initiatives which Asad might otherwise elect to pursue. The reality of Israel's legitimizing function has specific relevance to U.S. foreign policy vis-a-vis both Syria and Israel, particularly regarding the peace process. Hafez al-Asad, Syria, Israel, Baath party, Pan-Arabism, Palestinians, 1973 War, Golan Heights, Muslim Brethren, Lebanon, Gulf crisis.

Author : Mark M. Huber
Publisher :
Page : 122 pages
File Size : 31,78 MB
Release : 1992
Category : Syria
ISBN :

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It has, been taken for granted that Hafez al-Asad relies exclusively upon an iron fist to perpetuate the survival of his regime. Close scrutiny of Asad's presidency, however, betrays the inadequacy of this explanation. In fact, Syria's conflict with Israel is the primary legitimizing agent for Asad's minority-Alawi regime, and it is because of this conflict that Asad's regime has endured. Consequently, the absence of a militant confrontation with Israel poses risks which the present Syrian leadership has been unwilling to assume. Furthermore, this condition acts as a restraint upon certain types of foreign policy activities and initiatives which Asad might otherwise elect to pursue. The reality of Israel's legitimizing function has specific relevance to U.S. foreign policy vis-a-vis both Syria and Israel, particularly regarding the peace process. Hafez al-Asad, Syria, Israel, Baath party, Pan-Arabism, Palestinians, 1973 War, Golan Heights, Muslim Brethren, Lebanon, Gulf crisis.

Author : Hans Blumenberg
Publisher : MIT Press
Page : 718 pages
File Size : 20,5 MB
Release : 1985-10-21
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780262521055

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In this major work, Blumenberg takes issue with Karl Löwith's well-known thesis that the idea of progress is a secularized version of Christian eschatology, which promises a dramatic intervention that will consummate the history of the world from outside. Instead, Blumenberg argues, the idea of progress always implies a process at work within history, operating through an internal logic that ultimately expresses human choices and is legitimized by human self-assertion, by man's responsibility for his own fate.

Author : Lisa Wedeen
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 271 pages
File Size : 39,29 MB
Release : 2015-09-09
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 022634553X

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Treating rhetoric and symbols as central rather than peripheral to politics, Lisa Wedeen’s groundbreaking book offers a compelling counterargument to those who insist that politics is primarily about material interests and the groups advocating for them. During the thirty-year rule of President Hafiz al-Asad’s regime, his image was everywhere. In newspapers, on television, and during orchestrated spectacles. Asad was praised as the “father,” the “gallant knight,” even the country’s “premier pharmacist.” Yet most Syrians, including those who create the official rhetoric, did not believe its claims. Why would a regime spend scarce resources on a personality cult whose content is patently spurious? Wedeen shows how such flagrantly fictitious claims were able to produce a politics of public dissimulation in which citizens acted as if they revered the leader. By inundating daily life with tired symbolism, the regime exercised a subtle, yet effective form of power. The cult worked to enforce obedience, induce complicity, isolate Syrians from one another, and set guidelines for public speech and behavior. Wedeen‘s ethnographic research demonstrates how Syrians recognized the disciplinary aspects of the cult and sought to undermine them. In a new preface, Wedeen discusses the uprising against the Syrian regime that began in 2011 and questions the usefulness of the concept of legitimacy in trying to analyze and understand authoritarian regimes.

Author : Jonathan Phillips
Publisher : Yale University Press
Page : 519 pages
File Size : 40,86 MB
Release : 2019-08-20
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 0300247060

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An engaging biography that offers a new perspective on one of the most influential figures of the Crusades In 1187, Saladin marched triumphantly into Jerusalem, ending decades of struggle against the Christians and reclaiming the holy city for Islam. Four years later he fought off the armies of the Third Crusade, which were commanded by Europe's leading monarchs. A fierce warrior and savvy diplomat, Saladin's unparalleled courtesy, justice, generosity, and mercy were revered by both his fellow Muslims and his Christian rivals such as Richard the Lionheart. Combining thorough research with vivid storytelling, Jonathan Phillips offers a fresh and captivating look at the triumphs, failures, and contradictions of one of the Crusades' most unique figures. Bringing the vibrant world of the twelfth century to life, this book also explores Saladin's complicated legacy, examining the ways Saladin has been invoked in the modern age by Arab and Muslim leaders ranging from Nasser in Egypt, Asad in Syria, and Saddam Hussein in Iraq to Osama bin Laden, as well as his huge appeal across popular culture in books, drama, and music.

Author : Alessandro Columbu
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Page : 177 pages
File Size : 20,9 MB
Release : 2022-12-29
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN : 0755644115

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Zakariyya Tamir is Syria's foremost writer of short stories, and his works are widely read across the Arab world. In this, the first English language monograph on Tamir's entire oeuvre, Alessandro Columbu examines Tamir's literary development in the context of changing political contexts, from his beginnings as a short story writer on local magazines in the late 1950s until the Syrian revolution of 2011. Thus, the movements from independence and Western-inspired modernisation to the rise of nationalism and socialism; war, defeat, occupation in the 1960s; the emergence of authoritarianism and the cult of personality of Hafiz al-Assad in the 1970s are charted in the context of Tamir's works. Therein, the significance of masculinity and patriarchy and its changing nature in relation to nationalism and authoritarianism are revealed as Tamir's foremost vehicles for social and political critique. The role of female sexuality and its disrupting/empowering nature vis-à-vis patriarchal institutions is also explored, as is the question of literary commitment and the relationship between authors and the authoritarian regime of Syria; homosexuality and representations of unconventional sexualities in general.

Author : Linda T. Darling
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 418 pages
File Size : 11,96 MB
Release : 2013-05-02
Category : History
ISBN : 1136220178

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From ancient Mesopotamia into the 20th century, "the Circle of Justice" as a concept has pervaded Middle Eastern political thought and underpinned the exercise of power in the Middle East. The Circle of Justice depicts graphically how a government’s justice toward the population generates political power, military strength, prosperity, and good administration. This book traces this set of relationships from its earliest appearance in the political writings of the Sumerians through four millennia of Middle Eastern culture. It explores how people conceptualized and acted upon this powerful insight, how they portrayed it in symbol, painting, and story, and how they transmitted it from one regime to the next. Moving towards the modern day, the author shows how, although the Circle of Justice was largely dropped from political discourse, it did not disappear from people’s political culture and expectations of government. The book demonstrates the Circle’s relevance to the Iranian Revolution and the rise of Islamist movements all over the Middle East, and suggests how the concept remains relevant in an age of capitalism. A "must read" for students, policymakers, and ordinary citizens, this book will be an important contribution to the areas of political history, political theory, Middle East studies and Orientalism.

Author : Carmela Lutmar
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 378 pages
File Size : 35,69 MB
Release : 2015-11-06
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 1317692853

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This volume examines mechanisms for regional peacemaking and conflict management in Europe and the Middle East. To date little research has been devoted to uncovering the conditions for peace, and the factors that contribute to stabilizing the state of peace. This volume assesses the factors that contribute to regional pacification, the incentives that motivate states in establishing peaceful relations, and most importantly, how regions become peaceful. It discusses the conditions under which various types of ‘peace’ might emerge on a regional level and the factors most likely to determine the outcome. The book takes an innovative approach through a systematic comparison of two regions that are particularly prominent and important for the subject of regional pacification: Europe and the Middle East. While many believe that the European case is the indispensable model for peacemaking, others believe that these two regions are too different for Europe to be a useful framework for the Middle East. This volume occupies a middle ground between these two extreme positions. It argues that while a mindless copying of European models will not lead to peace in the Middle East, important insights can be gained from the most successful case of regional peacemaking to date. This work will be of much interest to students of regional security, peacemaking, conflict management, Middle East politics, European security and IR in general.