'[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

Table of Contents

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

Promotional Information

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.

About the Author

Nikolaos van Dam is a specialist on Syria and has served as Ambassador of the Netherlands to Indonesia, Germany, Turkey, Egypt and Iraq.

Reviews

'[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