Politics of Syria

Politics in the Syrian Arab Republic takes place in the framework of what is officially a parliamentary republic, but what is considered an authoritarian government^[1] where the power is in the hands of the President of Syria, his family, the ruling Ba'ath Party, and the Alawi sect.^[1]

The two presidents who have been in power since 1963 — the late Hafiz al-Asad followed by his son Bashar al-Asad — were approved in plebiscites where there were no other candidates. The President and his senior aides, particularly those in the military and security services, ultimately make most basic decisions in political and economic life, with a limited degree of public accountability. The president issues laws, amends the constitution by decree; appoints ministers, civil servants and military personnel subject to the law; declares war and states of emergency. Decrees issued by the president must be approved by the People's Council to become law, except during a state of emergency which was in force until 21 April 2011 when it was lifted during the 2011 Syrian uprising, (the end of it being one of the key demands of the protesters).^[2] The Baath Party is Syria's ruling party and the constitution states that "the Arab Socialist Baath Party leads society and the state."^[1] At least 167 seats of the 250-member parliament are guaranteed for the National Progressive Front, which is a coalition of the Ba'ath party and several other much smaller allied parties.^[3] The Syrian army and security services maintained a considerable presence in the neighbouring Lebanese Republic from 1975 until April 24, 2005; for more detail on this, see Syrian presence in Lebanon.^[4]

Background

Hafiz al-Asad took power in 1970, and after his death in 2000 was succeeded by his son, Bashar al-Asad. Totaling the years makes it the second longest ruling regime in the Arab world after Muammar al-Gaddafi's. The regime's survival is due partly to a strong desire for stability and its success in giving groups such as religious minorities and peasant farmers a stake in society. The expansion of the government bureaucracy has also created a large class loyal to the regime. The President's continuing strength is due also to the army's continued loyalty and the effectiveness of Syria's large internal security apparatus, the top leaderships of which are largely made up of members of Asad's own Alawi sect. The several main branches of the security services operate independently of each other and outside the legal system. Each continues to be responsible for human rights violations.

There was a surge of interest in political reform after Bashar al-Asad 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 "Damascus Spring" (July 2000-February 2001). Asad also made a series of appointments of reform-minded advisors to formal and less formal positions, and included a number of similarly oriented individuals in his Cabinet. The arrest and long-term detention of two reformist Parliamentarians, Ma’mun al-Humsy and Riad Seif, in August and September 2001, respectively, and the apparent marginalizing of some of the reformist advisors in the past four years, indicate that the pace of any political reform in Syria is likely to be much slower than the short-lived Damascus Spring promised.

Baathism

All three branches of government are guided by the views of the Ba'ath Party, whose primacy in state institutions is assured by the constitution. The party holds a two-thirds majority in the Syrian parliament. In recent years, there has been a gradual decline in the party's preeminence, often in favor of the leadership of the broader National Progressive Front. The party also is now dominated by the military, which consumes a large share of Syria's economic resources. 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 socialist revolution to every part of the Arab world. Founded by Michel Aflaq, a Syrian Christian and Salah al-Din al-Bitar, a Syrian Sunni, the Ba'ath Party embraces secularism and has attracted supporters of all faiths in many Arab countries, especially Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon. Since August 1990, however, the party has tended to de-emphasize socialism and to stress pan-Arab unity.

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 socialist and Arab nationalist ideology of the regime. 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 that broader ideological perspectives may be afforded some degree of toleration in the future, but ethnically-based (Kurdish and Assyrian) parties continue to be repressed and a strict ban on religious parties is still enforced.

The Ba'ath Party dominates the Legislature, which is known as the People's Council. Elected every 4 years, the Council has no independent authority. Although legislators may criticize policies and modify draft laws, they cannot initiate laws, and the executive branch retains ultimate control over the legislative process. During 2002, two independent members of Legislature who had advocated political reforms were stripped of their parliamentary immunity and tried and convicted of charges of "attempting to illegally change the constitution." The government has allowed independent non-NPF candidates to run for a limited allotment of seats in the 250-member People's Council. The current allotment of non-NPF deputies is 83, ensuring a permanent absolute majority for the Ba'ath Party-dominated NPF. Elections for the 250 seats in the People's Council last took place in 2007.

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.^[5][4]

Government administration

The Syrian constitution vests the Ba'ath Party (formally the Arab Ba'ath Socialist Party) with leadership functions in the state and society and provides broad powers to the president. The president, approved by referendum for a 7-year term, is also Secretary General of the Ba'ath Party and leader of the National Progressive Front. The president has the right to appoint ministers (Cabinet of Syria), 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-Asad, was confirmed by an unopposed referendum in July 2000. He was confirmed again in 2007 with 97% of the vote approving.^[6]

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. However, because of Ba'ath Party dominance, the National Progressive Front has traditionally exercised little independent power.

The Syrian constitution of 1973 requires that the president be Muslim but does not make Islam the state religion. Islamic jurisprudence, however, is required to be the main source of legislation. 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 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.

Legislative branch

The People's Council (Majlis al-Sha'ab) has 250 members elected for a four year term in 15 multi-seat constituencies. Unlike parliaments in many other countries, the People's Council does not draft laws but modifies and critiques drafts put forward by the president of Syria.^[7] Syria is a single-party state and only one political party, the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party is legally allowed to hold effective power. Of the 250 seats in the council, 167 are guaranteed for the National Progressive Front (founded in 1972) and 134 of these (as of 2007) are members of the Ba'ath Party. The minor parties in the Progressive Front, are legally required to accept the leadership of the Ba'ath Party. The other parties in the Progressive Front, for example, are not allowed to canvass for supporters in the army or the student body which are "reserved exclusively for the Ba'ath."^[8]

Political parties and elections

International organization participation

Syria is a member of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, Arab League, Arab Monetary Fund, Council of Arab Economic Unity, Customs Cooperation Council, Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, Food and Agricultural Organization, Group of 24, Group of 77, International Atomic Energy Agency, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, International Civil Aviation Organization, International Chamber of Commerce, International Development Association, Islamic Development Bank, International Fund for Agricultural Development, International Finance Corporation, International Labour Organization, International Monetary Fund, International Maritime Organization, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, International Olympic Committee, International Organization for Standardization, International Telecommunication Union, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Non-Aligned Movement, Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, United Nations, UN Commission on Human Rights, UN Conference on Trade and Development, UN Industrial Development Organization, UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, Universal Postal Union, World Federation of Trade Unions, World Health Organization, World Meteorological Organization, and World Tourism Organization.

Syria's diplomats last sat on the UN Security Council, (as a non permanent member) in December 2003.

References

External links

• Syria list at CIA Chiefs of State and Cabinet Members, 16 February 2011
• Syria Government at the Open Directory Project
• Syria 2010 Public Opinion Survey, Pepperdine University's in-person survey of 1046 Syrian adults about corruption, democracy and human rights, politics and economics, and their personal and family situations
• Syria at the United States Institute of Peace
• Syria Policy categorizes new stories published over the past 24 hours by major news agencies.

Further reading

• Raymond Hinnebusch: The Political Economy of Economic Liberalization in Syria, in: International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 27 - Nr. 3, August 1995, S. 305-320.
• Raymond Hinnebusch: State, Civil Society, and Political Change in Syria, in: A.R. Norton: Civil Society in the Middle East, Leiden, 1995.
• Ismail Küpeli: Ibn Khaldun und das politische System Syriens - Eine Gegenüberstellung, München, 2007, ISBN 9-783-638754583 (critical approach with reference to the political theory of Ibn Khaldun)
• Moshe Ma’oz / Avner Yaniv (Ed.): Syria under Assad, London, 1986.
• Nikolaos van Dam: The Struggle for Power in Syria, London, 1981.