| Publication |
2012.
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| Summary/Abstract |
With the popular revolt in Syria entering its ninth month, it is becoming more evident that the current regime is reaching its historical limits. To understand the origin of these revolts, however, one needs to explore the longer-term history. This report situates Syria's uprisings within the wider Arab trajectory and argues that the state socialist model built by the Syrian Ba'ath in the 1960s has given way to an organic relationship between Westernized merchant classes and authoritarian forces. However, the increasing fusion between neoliberal and authoritarian forces also created the possibilities for the social revolts.
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