Requiem for the Ba'ath Party:

Hafizullah Emadi

• Bamiyan Province of Afghanistan
• University of Hawaii-Manoa
• Monitored 2004 Afghan elections
• Woodrow Wilson Center Fellowship
• I have no idea what he looks like

Intro

• Downfall of the Ottoman Empire
• Installation of puppet leaders
• "autocracy riddled w/ corruption & ruled by despotic leaders"
• Arab Socialist Baath Party in Syria

Society & State in Syria

• Arabs, Armenians, Assyrians, Kurds, Turkmen
• Sunni 74%, Shiites(Alawis,Ismailis,13%), Christians 10%, Druze 3%
• Failed division of country in 1946
• Arab Socialist Baath Party seized power in coup in 1963
• Sunni leader Amin Hafiz, replaced by Hafez al-Assad

cont.

• now ruled by Alawi Islam minority
• Assad placed family members in key positions
• Portrayed himself as the new "Saladin"
• Sphinx of Damascus
• Beginning of Muslim Brotherhood opposition

Uprisings in the 1980's

• The beginning of violent clashes 
• Assad denounces ties w/US
• Strengthens ties w/Khomeini
• Brutal crackdown on opposition groups

New World Order & Developments in Syria

• Collapse of the Soviet Union
• Syria tries to improve US relations
• Supports US during Gulf War I

Development in Syria in the Post-Assad Period: 2000 to Present

• Hafez removes potential rivals of Bashar
• Bashar assumes control in 2000
• Elected after obtaining 92.7% of votes
• Enacted "reforms" to win popular support
• The state tolerated "cosmetic" reforms

cont.

• Syrian Human Rights Committee resumes
• Distance himself from his father
• Population boom, increased labor force, no jobs
• Lack of accountability and transparency
• Syrians continue disenchantment w/government

Popular Uprising in 2011

• Dissent of the Arab world reaches Syria
• Bashar rescinds "emergency laws"
• Declares war on protesters and opposition

The U.S. & Developments in Syria

• America: ugggghhhhhhh the worst
• Finger pointing at its finest
• Bashar to western world: GFY
• US attempts to isolate Syria
• Syrian military & security still support Bashar

Conclusion

• No alternative social vision
• "Headless movements"
• Iraqi Baathist removal
• Socioeconomic equality = change & freedom

Comments

• Thorough without being overwhelming
• Critical of all parties invloved
• Interesting insight into contradictions of policy
• Doesn't make baseless assumptions

Critiques

• Failure to address role of technology in protest
• Doesn't address Obama/Bashar relationship
• Why were blue collar workers supporting regime?
• Does not illustrate differences between multiple Ba'ath parties
• Does not expound on role Egypt directly had with uprising

The End