The Damascus Seat of Power

Recent scholarship on Syria has been overwhelmed by analysis of the civil war. This book addresses the modern history neglected by academics over the last ten years.Written by renowned Syrian historian, Sami Moubayed, it covers the late Ottoman era to the years of the Syrian-Egyptian Union (1958-1961) and its immediate aftermath, known as the Succession Era. The book present readers with a Syria that is very different from the Syria of today. The chapters depict a country driven by a need to experiment with different forms of government, ranging from monarchism in 1918-1920, federalism in the 1920s, republicanism after 1932, and autocracy from 1949. The book also includes controversial historical episodes, most of which have not been written about in English before: political murder, the history of the Syrian presidency, French colonialism, federalism, secularism, authoritarianism, higher education, monarchism, and the start of Syria's socialist economy in 1961. In showing a Syria that is rich politically, economically, culturally and socially, the author argues that this Syria could serve as a blueprint for the Syria of tomorrow. The book relies heavily on British archives and first-hand interviews with figures who were active between the 1930's and 1950's. It draws together the key English and Arabic works by the author - currently available only in hard-to-reach journals - with additional new chapters to establish this book as a comprehensive historical account of the period.