TheNational Progressive Front (Arabic:الجبهة الوطنية التقدمية,romanized: al-Jabha al-Waṭaniyyah al-Taqaddumiyyah,NPF) was aBa'athist Syrian state controlled coalition ofleft-wing parties that supported theArab nationalist andArab socialist orientation of the now defunctAssad regime and accepted the "leading role" of the rulingSyrian Ba'ath party. The coalition was modelled after thepopular front system used in theCommunist Bloc, through which the Syrian Ba'ath party governed the country while permitting nominal participation of smaller, satellite parties. The NPF was part of the Ba'ath party's efforts to expand its support base and neutralize prospects for any sustainableliberal or left-wing opposition, by instigating splits within independent leftist parties or repressing them.[4][5][6][7][8] The coalition was officially outlawed by theSyrian transitional government on 29 January 2025 after thecollapse of the Ba'athist regime.
The NPF model was created by the Ba'athist system to enforce a highly centralizedpresidential system.[9] The satellite parties within the NPF had smaller political power and largely functioned as networks for mobilizing loyalty to the government.Student activism and political activities inarmed forces were strictly prohibited for non-Ba'athist parties in the NPF, amongst other restrictions.[10][11]
The NPF was established in 1972 by Syrian presidentHafez al-Assad to provide for a limited degree of participation in government by political parties other than the ruling Ba'ath Party.[12] While the NPF had little influence in central bodies such as thePeople's Assembly, it was given more say at the local level, where non-Ba'athists and independent candidates were fielded. While the Ba'ath Party controlled the vast majority of votes in the central committees, several seats in the local were allotted for members of other NPF parties and independents. These minorparties were legally required to accept the leadership of the Ba'ath Party. The non-Ba'athist parties in the Progressive Front, for example, were not allowed to canvass for supporters in the army or the student body which were "reserved exclusively for the Ba'ath."[13]
From 1972 to 2011, only parties participating in the NPF were legally permitted to operate in Syria. The Legislative Decree on Parties law of 2011,[14] Legislative Decree on General Elections Law of 2011[15] and the newSyrian constitution of 2012[16] introduced multi-party system in Syria.
^Baresh, Manhal (20 June 2024). Kheder Khaddour (ed.)."Politics in Syria: Mapping Active Political Parties and Movements"(PDF).Political landscape in Syria. Berlin, Germany: IMPACT Research: 30.For instance, the National Progressive Front is known for its socialist and leftist ideology, while entities like the Syrian National Council and the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces unite various Syrian opposition parties under a shared goal of opposing the Assad regime, regardless of their individual ideological beliefs.
^Tom Lansford; Jorge Brown; John M. Callahan; David Harms Holt; Robert J. Pauly Jr.; Alexander D. Stephenson (2021). "Syria".Political Handbook of the World 2020-2021. Vol. 1. SAGE Publications. p. 1618.ISBN978-1-5443-8471-9.ISSN0193-175X.
^Seale, Patrick (1989). "19: The Enemy Within".Asad of Syria: The Struggle for the Middle East. Los Angeles, USA: University of California Press. pp. 175–176.ISBN0-520-06667-7.
^Batatu, Hanna (1999).Syria's Peasantry, the Descendants of Its Lesser Rural Notables, and Their Politics. Chichester, West Sussex, UK: Princeton University Press. pp. 121, 274, 275.ISBN0-691-00254-1.
^Batatu, Hanna (1999). "13: The Post-1970 Asad-molded, Career-oriented Ba'ath".Syria's Peasantry, the Descendants of Its Lesser Rural Notables, and Their Politics. Chichester, West Sussex, UK: Princeton University Press. p. 187.ISBN0-691-00254-1.
^Seale, Patrick (1989).Asad of Syria: The Struggle for the Middle East. Los Angeles, USA: University of California Press. p. 176.ISBN0-520-06667-7.
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