Politics of Syria سياسة سوريا | |
---|---|
Polity type | Unitary dominant-party semi-presidential republic |
Constitution | Constitution of Syria |
Legislative branch | |
Name | People's Council |
Type | Unicameral |
Meeting place | Parliament Building |
Presiding officer | Hammouda Sabbagh, Speaker of the People's Council |
Executive branch | |
Head of State | |
Title | President |
Currently | Bashar al-Assad |
Appointer | Direct popular vote |
Head of Government | |
Title | Prime Minister |
Currently | Hussein Arnous |
Appointer | President |
Cabinet | |
Name | Council of Ministers |
Current cabinet | Hussein Arnous government |
Leader | Prime Minister |
Deputy leader | Deputy Prime Minister |
Appointer | President |
Ministries | 30 |
Judicial branch | |
Name | Judiciary of Syria |
Supreme Constitutional Court | |
Chief judge | Mohammad Jihad al-Laham |
Member State of the Arab League |
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Politics in the Syrian Arab Republic takes place in the framework of a presidential republic [1] [2] with nominal multi-party representation in People's Council under the Ba'athist-dominated National Progressive Front. In practice, Syria is a one-party state where independent parties are outlawed; with a powerful secret police that cracks down on dissidents. [3] [4] Since the 1963 seizure of power by its Military Committee, the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party has governed Syria as a totalitarian police state. [lower-alpha 1] After a period of intra-party strife, Hafez al-Assad gained control of the party following the 1970 coup d'état and his family has dominated the country's politics ever since. [5] [6] [7]
Until the early stages of the Syrian uprising, the president had broad and unchecked decree authority under a long-standing state of emergency. The end of this emergency was a key demand of the uprising. Superficial reforms in 2011 made presidential decrees subject to approval by the People's Council, the country's legislature, which is itself dominated to parties loyal to the president. [8] The Ba'ath Party is Syria's ruling party and the previous Syrian constitution of 1973 stated that "the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party leads society and the state." [9] At least 183 seats of the 250-member parliament are currently reserved for the National Progressive Front, a Ba'ath Party dominated coalition that consists of nine other satellite parties loyal to Ba'athist rule. [10] [11] The rest of the seats are occupied by independents, who are nominated by the Ba'ath party. [12]
The Syrian Army and security services maintained a considerable presence in the neighbouring Lebanese Republic from 1975 until 24 April 2005. [13] 50th edition of Freedom in the World, the annual report published by Freedom House since 1973, designates Syria as "Worst of the Worst" among the "Not Free" countries, listing Assad government as one of the two regimes to get the lowest possible score (1/100). [14] [15]
Hafez al-Assad took power in 1970. After his death in 2000 his son, Bashar al-Assad, succeeded him as president. A surge of interest in political reform took place after Bashar al-Assad assumed power in 2000. Human-rights activists and other civil-society advocates, as well as some parliamentarians, became more outspoken during a period referred to as the "Damascus Spring" (July 2000-February 2001), which was crushed by the Ba'athist government under the pretext of "national unity and stability". [16]
Hafez al-Assad built his government around three pillars, core of which is the Ba'ath party and its affiliated organizations which holds extensive influence over the society through its monopoly over the media and civil activism. Alawite elites who are loyal to the Assad family form another patronage network. The final pillar is the pervasive military apparatus that is managed by the Ba'athist Central Command; consisting of Syrian Arab Armed Forces, Mukhabarat and various Ba'athist paramilitaries, all of which are headed by senior party leaders who directly answer to the Assad patriarch. [17]
The Ba'ath platform is proclaimed succinctly in the party's slogan: "Unity, freedom, and socialism." The party is both socialist, advocating state ownership of the means of industrial production and the redistribution of agricultural land (in practice, Syria's nominally socialist economy is effectively a mixed economy, composed of large state enterprises and private small businesses), and revolutionary, dedicated to carrying a pan-Arab revolution to every part of the Arab world. Founded by Michel Aflaq, a Syrian Christian, Salah al-Din al-Bitar, a Syrian Sunni, and Zaki al-Arsuzi, an alawite, the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party, which was dissolved in 1966 following the 1966 Syrian coup d'état which led to the establishment of one Iraqi-dominated ba'ath movement and one Syrian-led ba'ath movement. The party embraces secularism and has attracted supporters of all faiths in many Arab countries, especially Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon.
Six smaller political parties are permitted to exist and, along with the Ba'ath Party, make up the National Progressive Front (NPF), a grouping of parties that represents the sole framework of legal political party participation for citizens. While created ostensibly to give the appearance of a multi-party system, the NPF is dominated by the Ba'ath Party and does not change the essentially one-party character of the political system. Non-Ba'ath Party members of the NPF exist as political parties largely in name only and conform strictly to Ba'ath Party and government policies. There were reports in 2000 that the government was considering legislation to expand the NPF to include new parties and several parties previously banned; these changes have not taken place. However, one such party- the Syrian Social Nationalist Party- was legalised in 2005.
Traditionally, the parties of the NPF accepted the Arab nationalist and nominally socialist ideology of the government. However, the SSNP was the first party that is neither socialist nor Arab nationalist in orientation to be legalised and admitted to the NPF. This has given rise to suggestions[ by whom? ] that broader ideological perspectives would be afforded some degree of toleration in the future, but this did not occur: ethnically-based (Kurdish and Assyrian) parties continue to be repressed, most opposition parties are illegal, and a strict ban on religious parties is still enforced.
Syria's Emergency Law was in force from 1963, when the Ba'ath Party came to power, until 21 April 2011 when it was rescinded by Bashar al-Assad (decree 161). The law, justified on the grounds of the continuing war with Israel and the threats posed by terrorists, suspended most constitutional protections. [13] [18]
Leadership in Damascus:
Office | Name | Party | Since |
---|---|---|---|
President | Bashar al-Assad | Ba'ath Party | 17 July 2000 |
Prime Minister | Hussein Arnous | Ba'ath Party | 11 June 2020 |
Leadership of the Syrian opposition in Idlib:
Office | Name | Party | Since |
---|---|---|---|
President | Salem al-Meslet | Independent | 12 July 2021 |
Prime Minister | Abdurrahman Mustafa | Independent | 30 June 2019 |
The previous Syrian constitution of 1973 vested the Ba'ath Party (formally the Arab Ba'ath Socialist Party) with leadership functions in the state and society and provided broad powers to the president. The president, approved by referendum for a 7-year term, was also Secretary General of the Ba'ath Party and leader of the National Progressive Front. During the 2011–2012 Syrian uprising, a new constitution was put to a referendum. Amongst other changes, it abolished the old article 8 which entrenched the power of the Ba'ath party. The new article 8 reads: "The political system of the state shall be based on the principle of political pluralism, and exercising power democratically through the ballot box". [19] In a new article 88, it introduced presidential elections and limited the term of office for the president to seven years with a maximum of one re-election. [20] The referendum resulted in the adoption of the new constitution, which came into force on 27 February 2012. [21] The president has the right to appoint ministers (Council of Ministers), to declare war and states of emergency, to issue laws (which, except in the case of emergency, require ratification by the People's Council), to declare amnesty, to amend the constitution, and to appoint civil servants and military personnel. The late President Hafiz al-Asad was confirmed by unopposed plebiscites five times. His son and current President Bashar al-Assad, was confirmed by an unopposed referendum in July 2000. He was confirmed again on 27 May 2007 with 97.6% of the vote [5] [22]
Along with the National Progressive Front, the president decides issues of war and peace and approves the state's 5-year economic plans. The National Progressive Front also acts as a forum in which economic policies are debated and the country's political orientation is determined.
The Syrian constitution of 2012 requires that the president be Muslim but does not make Islam the state religion. The judicial system in Syria is an amalgam of Ottoman, French, and Islamic laws, with three levels of courts: courts of first instance, courts of appeals, and the constitutional court, the highest tribunal. In addition, religious courts handle questions of personal and family law. The Ba'ath Party emphasizes socialism and secular Pan-Arabism. Despite the Ba'ath Party's doctrine on building national rather than ethnic identity, the issues of ethnic, religious, and regional allegiances still remain important in Syria.
Political system of the Assad regime has been characterized as a hybrid of absolute monarchy and republic. [23] [24] Syrian security apparatus and the dreaded secret police are instrumentalized by the regime to instill terror among ordinary citizens to prevent critique of the President or organize demonstrations. Political dissidents Riad al-Turk and Suheir Atassi have described Ba'athist Syria as a "Kingdom of Silence" which maintains monopoly over political discourse by seeking the total de-politicization of the society itself. [25] [26]
All registered political parties in Syria are participants within the Assadist system, that proclaims its loyalty to the ruling Ba'ath party and are stipulated by the government to advance the interests of the Ba'athist state. Registered parties are constantly surveilled and regulated by the Ba'athist Political Security Directorate (PSD), and are permitted to operate only under the directives issued by the PSD. [27]
The last parliamentary election was on 19 July 2020 and the results were announced on 20 July. [28]
Party or alliance | Seats | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
National Progressive Front | Ba'ath Party | 167 | ||
Syrian Social Nationalist Party | 3 | |||
Syrian Communist Party (Bakdash) | 3 | |||
Socialist Unionist Party | 2 | |||
Arab Socialist Union Party | 3 | |||
National Covenant Party | 2 | |||
Syrian Communist Party (Faisal) | 1 | |||
Arabic Democratic Union Party | 1 | |||
Democratic Socialist Unionist Party | 1 | |||
Independents | 67 | |||
Total | 250 | |||
Source: Middle East Institute [28] |
Hafez al-Assad was a Syrian statesman and military officer who was the 18th president of Syria from 1971 until his death. He was previously prime minister of Syria from 1970 to 1971, as well as regional secretary of the regional command of the Syrian regional branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party and secretary general of the National Command of the Ba'ath Party from 1970 to 2000. Hafez al-Assad was a key participant in the 1963 Syrian coup d'état which brought the Syrian regional branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party to power in the country.
Bashar al-Assad is a Syrian politician who is the current and 19th president of Syria since 17 July 2000. In addition, he is the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and the secretary-general of the Central Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party, which nominally espouses a neo-Ba'athist ideology. His father and predecessor was General Hafez al-Assad, whose presidency between 1971 and 2000 marked the transfiguration of Syria from a republican state into a dynastic dictatorship tightly controlled by an Alawite-dominated elite composed of the armed forces and the Mukhabarat, who are loyal to the al-Assad family.
A civil war has been going on in Syria since 2011, following the events of the 2011 Syrian Revolution, which was part of the international wave of protest known as the Arab Spring. The government, headed by Bashar al-Assad, son of previous leader Hafez al-Assad, is based in Damascus, the traditional capital. The Ba'athist government conducts Presidential elections and parliamentary elections to the People's Council.
The current Constitution of the Syrian Arab Republic was adopted on 26 February 2012, replacing one that had been in force since 13 March 1973. The current constitution designates the state's government as a "democratic" and "republican" system. It determines Syria's identity as Arab and describes the country as a part of the wider "Arab homeland" and its people as an integral part of the Arab nation. The constitution supports the Pan-Arab programme for co-operation with other Arab nations to eventually achieve Arab Union.
The National Progressive Front is a pro-government coalition of left-wing parties in Syria that supports the Arab nationalist and Arab socialist orientation of the government and accepts the "leading role" of the ruling Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party. The coalition was formed on the basis of the Popular Front model of Socialist Bloc, through which Syrian Ba'ath party governs the country by permitting nominal participation of smaller, satellite parties. The NPF is part of Ba'ath Party's efforts to expand its support base and neutralize prospects for any sustainable liberal or left-wing opposition, by instigating splits within independent leftist parties or repressing them.
The Arab Socialist Union Party of Syria (ASU) is a Nasserist political party in Syria. ASU was led by Safwan al-Qudsi. The party was formed in 1973, following a split from the original ASU.
The situation for human rights in Syria is considered one of the worst in the world and has been globally condemned by international organizations like the United Nations, Human rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the European Union. Civil liberties, political rights, freedom of speech and assembly are virtually non-existent under the Ba'athist government of Bashar al-Assad; which is regarded as "one of the world’s most repressive regimes". The 50th edition of Freedom in the World, the annual report published by Freedom House since 1973, designates Syria as "Worst of the Worst" among the "Not Free" countries. The report lists Syria as one of the two countries to get the lowest possible score (1/100).
A referendum to confirm the presidential candidate Bashar al-Assad was held in Syria on 27 May 2007, after the People's Council of Syria unanimously voted to propose the incumbent for a second term on 10 May 2007.
The 1966 Syrian coup d'état refers to events between 21 and 23 February during which the government of the Syrian Arab Republic was overthrown and replaced. The ruling National Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party were removed from power by a union of the party's Military Committee and the Regional Command, under the leadership of Salah Jadid.
The mass media in Syria consists primarily of television, radio, Internet, film and print. The national language of Syria is Arabic but some publications and broadcasts are also available in English and French. While television is the most popular medium in Syria, the Internet has become a widely utilized vehicle to disseminate content. Transcending all available media, the government seeks to control what Syrians see by restricting coverage from outside sources. Publications and broadcasts are monitored by members of the government. All mass media outlets are under the supervision of the Ministry of Information. Third article of the 2013 Information Ministry guidelines stipulate that purpose of all media outlets is "to enlighten public opinion" in line with the ideological doctrines "of the Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party and the policy of the state".
The 1963 Syrian coup d'état, referred to by the Syrian government as the 8 March Revolution, was the successful seizure of power in Syria by the military committee of the Syrian Regional Branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. The planning and the unfolding conspiracy was inspired by the Iraqi Regional Branch's successful military coup.
The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party, also referred to as the pro-Syrian Ba'ath movement, is a neo-Ba'athist political party with branches across the Arab world. The party emerged from a split in the Ba'ath Party in February 1966 and leads the government in Syria. From 1970 until 2000, the party was led by the Syrian president and Secretary General Hafez al-Assad. Until October 2018, leadership has been shared between his son Bashar al-Assad and Abdullah al-Ahmar. In 2017, after the reunification of the National and Regional Command, Bashar al-Assad became the Secretary General of the Central Command. The Syrian branch of the Party is the largest organisation within the Syrian-led Ba'ath Party.
A constitutional referendum was held in Syria on 26 February 2012. In response to the Syrian Civil War, President Bashar al-Assad ordered a new constitution to be drafted. The referendum was not monitored by foreign observers.
The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region, officially the Syrian Regional Branch, is a neo-Ba'athist organisation founded on 7 April 1947 by Michel Aflaq, Salah al-Din al-Bitar and followers of Zaki al-Arsuzi. The party has ruled Syria continuously since the 1963 Syrian coup d'état which brought the Ba'athists to power. It was first the regional branch of the original Ba'ath Party (1947–1966) before it changed its allegiance to the Syrian-dominated Ba'ath movement (1966–present) following the 1966 split within the original Ba'ath Party. Since their ascent to power in 1963, neo-Ba'athist officers proceeded by stamping out the traditional civilian elites to construct a military dictatorship operating in totalitarian lines; wherein all state agencies, party organisations, public institutions, civil entities, media and health infrastructure are tightly dominated by the army establishment, deep state, and the Mukhabarat.
Munif al-Razzaz was a Jordanian-Syrian physician and politician who was the second, and last, Secretary General of the National Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party, having been elected to the post at the 8th National Congress held in April 1965.
Ba'athism, also spelled Baathism, is an Arab nationalist ideology which promotes the creation and development of a unified Arab state through the leadership of a vanguard party over a socialist revolutionary government. The ideology is officially based on the theories of the Syrian intellectuals Michel Aflaq, Zaki al-Arsuzi, and Salah al-Din al-Bitar. Ba'athist leaders of the modern era include the former president of Iraq, Saddam Hussein, former President of Syria, Hafez al-Assad and his son, the current president of Syria, Bashar al-Assad.
The Syrian revolution, also known as the 2011 Syrian uprising, Syrian Revolution of Dignity was the early stage of protests – with subsequent violent reaction by the Syrian Arab Republic – lasting from March to 28 July 2011, as part of the wider Arab Spring in the Arab world. The uprising, which demanded democratic reforms, evolved from initially minor protests, beginning as early as January 2011 and transformed into massive protests in March. The uprising was marked by massive anti-government opposition demonstrations against the Ba'athist rule of Bashar al-Assad, meeting with police and military violence, massive arrests and a brutal crackdown, resulting in thousands of deaths and tens of thousands wounded.
The Central Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party, which was established through the merger of the National Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party and the Regional Command of the Syrian Regional Branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party in 2018, is the ruling organ of the Ba'ath Party organization in Syria and the Syrian-led Ba'athist movement. Its former, Regional Command, stems from Ba'athist ideology, where region literally means an Arab state. According to the Syrian Constitution, the Central Command has the power to nominate a candidate for president. While the constitution does not state that the Secretary-General of the Central Command is the President of Syria, the charter of the National Progressive Front (NPF), of which the Ba'ath Party is a member, states that the President and the Secretary-General is the NPF President, but this is not stated in any legal document. The 1st Extraordinary Regional Congress held in 1964 decided that the Secretary-General of the Central Command would also be head of state. Amin al-Hafiz, the incumbent secretary, became head of state and retained his post as Prime Minister.
This article details the history of the Syrian Regional Branch of the Ba'ath Party.
This article discusses the background and reasons that contributed to the outbreak of the Syrian Revolution. What began as large-scale peaceful protests in March 2011 as part of the 2010–11 Arab Spring protests that reverberated across the Arab World, eventually escalated into a civil war following the brutal crackdown by Assad regime's security apparatus.
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