| Summary/Abstract |
If public debt appears as a means for global powers to put pressure on the Arab countries, the case of Syria in the 1980s seems to be different. Syria’s geopolitical positioning under Hafez al-Assad – asserting himself as a key partner – proved to be a lever during the negotiations on debt. This article shows that, despite asymmetrical relations, the debtor – Syria – resisted negotiating external debt under the terms set by the foreign creditors, i.e. international financial institutions (World Bank and IMF), Western countries and the Soviet ally. To illustrate this, we will take the example of the French-Syrian relation with regard to debt. As it was closely connected to foreign policy, debt was shifting from a technical problem to a political one, this gradual shift being favourable to the Syrian position. This study could thus help to identify each phase of this asymmetrical negotiation until an agreement was reached in 1996.
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