Assad's earlyeconomic liberalisation programs worsened inequalities and centralized the socio-political power of the loyalist Damascene elite of theAssad family, alienating the Syrian rural population, urban working classes, businessmen, industrialists, and people from once-traditional Ba'ath strongholds. TheCedar Revolution inLebanon in February 2005, triggered by theassassination of Lebanese Prime MinisterRafic Hariri, forced Assad to end theSyrian occupation of Lebanon.
In November 2024, a coalition of Syrian rebels mountedseveral offensives with the intention of ousting Assad.[11][12] On the morning of 8 December, as rebel troops first entered Damascus, Assad fled toMoscow and was grantedpolitical asylum by theRussian government.[13][14] Later that day,Damascus fell to rebel forces, and Assad's regime collapsed.[15][16][17] After his departure, mass graves were discovered with the largest believed to contain 100,000 bodies of those who opposed Assad’s administration.[18]
Academics and analysts characterized Assad's presidency as a highlypersonalist dictatorship,[19][20][21][22][23][24] which governed Syria as atotalitarianpolice state[25][26][27][28] and was marked by numeroushuman rights violations and severerepression. While the Assad government described itself assecular, various political scientists and observers noted that his regime exploitedsectarian tensions in the country. Although Assad inherited the power structures andpersonality cult nurtured by his father, he lacked the loyalty received by his father and faced rising discontent against his rule. As a result, many people from his father's regime resigned or were purged, and the political inner circle was replaced by staunch loyalists fromAlawite clans.
In 1988, Assad graduated from medical school and began working as an army doctor atTishreen Military Hospital on the outskirts of Damascus.[29][30] Four years later, he settled in London to start postgraduate training inophthalmology at theWestern Eye Hospital.[31] He was described as a "geeky I.T. guy" during his time in London.[32] Bashar had few political aspirations,[33] and his father had been grooming Bashar's older brotherBassel as the future president.[34] Bashar lacked interest in politics or the military unlike Bassel, his younger brotherMaher, and second sisterBushra.[35][36][37] The Assad children reportedly rarely saw their father,[38] and Bashar later stated that he only entered his father's office once while he was president.[39]
On 21 January 1994, Bassel was driving his luxuryMercedes at a high speed through fog toDamascus International Airport for a privately chartered flight toFrankfurt,Germany, on his way to a ski vacation in theAlps in the early hours of the morning),[40][41][42] Bassel collided with a barrier and, not wearing a seatbelt, died instantly.[43]Hafez Makhlouf was with him and was hospitalized with injuries after the accident; a chauffeur in the back seat was unhurt.[43]
Soon after Bassel's death, Hafez al-Assad decided to make Bashar the newheir apparent.[44] Over the next six and a half years, until his death in 2000, Hafez prepared Bashar for taking over power. GeneralBahjat Suleiman, an officer in theDefense Companies, was entrusted with overseeing preparations for a smooth transition,[45][38] which were made on three levels. First, support was built up for Bashar in the military and security apparatus. Second, Bashar's image was established with the public. And lastly, Bashar was familiarised with the mechanisms of running the country.[46]
To establish his credentials in the military, Bashar entered themilitary academy at Homs in 1994 and was propelled through the ranks to become a colonel of the eliteSyrian Republican Guard in January 1999.[29][47][48] To establish a power base for Bashar in the military, old divisional commanders were pushed into retirement, and new, young, Alawite officers with loyalties to him took their place.[49]
In 1998, Bashar took charge of Syria'sLebanon file, which had since the 1970s been handled by Vice PresidentAbdul Halim Khaddam, who had until then been a potential contender for president.[49] By taking charge of Syrian affairs in Lebanon, Bashar was able to push Khaddam aside and establish his own power base in Lebanon.[50] In the same year, after minor consultation with Lebanese politicians, Bashar installedEmile Lahoud, a loyal ally of his, as thePresident of Lebanon and pushed formerLebanese Prime MinisterRafic Hariri aside, by not placing his political weight behind his nomination as prime minister.[51] To further weaken the old Syrian order in Lebanon, Bashar replaced the long-serving de facto SyrianHigh Commissioner of Lebanon,Ghazi Kanaan, withRustum Ghazaleh.[52]
Parallel to his military career, Bashar was engaged in public affairs. He was granted wide powers and became head of the bureau to receive complaints and appeals of citizens, and led a campaign against corruption. As a result of this campaign, many of Bashar's potential rivals for president were put on trial for corruption.[29] Bashar also became the President of theSyrian Computer Society and helped to introduce the internet in Syria, which aided his image as a modernizer and reformer.Ba'athist loyalists in the party, military, and theAlawite sect were supportive of Bashar al-Assad, enabling him to become his father's successor.[53]
After the death of Hafez al-Assad on 10 June 2000, theConstitution of Syria was amended. The minimum age requirement for the presidency was lowered from 40 to 34, which was Bashar's age at the time.[54] Assad contested as the only candidate and was subsequentlyconfirmed president on 10 July 2000, with 97.29% support for his leadership.[55][56] In line with his role as President of Syria, he was also appointed thecommander-in-chief of theSyrian Armed Forces and Regional Secretary of the Ba'ath Party. A series ofstate elections were held every seven years which Assad won with overwhelming majority of votes. The elections are unanimously regarded by independent observers as asham process and boycotted by theopposition.[a][b] The last two elections – held in 2014 and 2021 – were conducted only in areas controlled by the Syrian government during the country's civil war and condemned by theUnited Nations.[66][67][68]
^Robertson QC, Geoffrey (2013). "11: Justice in Demand".Crimes Against Humanity: The Struggle for Global Justice (4th ed.). New York: The New Press. pp. 560–562, 573,595–607.ISBN978-1-59558-860-9.
^Weeks, Jessica (2014).Dictators at War and Peace. Cornell University Press. p. 18.
^Wedeen, Lisa (2018).Authoritarian Apprehensions. Chicago Studies in Practices of Meaning. University of Chicago Press.Archived from the original on 21 October 2019.
^Hinnebusch, Raymond (2012). "Syria: from 'authoritarian upgrading' to revolution?".International Affairs.88 (1):95–113.doi:10.1111/j.1468-2346.2012.01059.x.
^Michalik, Susanne (2015). "Measuring Authoritarian Regimes with Multiparty Elections". In Michalik, Susanne (ed.).Multiparty Elections in Authoritarian Regimes: Explaining their Introduction and Effects. Studien zur Neuen Politischen Ökonomie. Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden. pp. 33–45.doi:10.1007/978-3-658-09511-6_3.ISBN978-3658095116.
^Khamis, Sahar; Gold, Paul B.; Vaughn, Katherine (2013). "22. Propaganda in Egypt and Syria's "Cyberwars": Contexts, Actors, Tools, and Tactics". In Auerbach, Castronovo; Jonathan, Russ (eds.).The Oxford Handbook of Propaganda Studies. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 422.ISBN978-0-19-976441-9.
^Wieland, Carsten (2018). "6: De-neutralizing Aid: All Roads Lead to Damascus".Syria and the Neutrality Trap: The Dilemmas of Delivering Humanitarian Aid Through Violent Regimes. London: I. B. Tauris. p. 68.ISBN978-0-7556-4138-3.
^Ahmed, Saladdin (2019).Totalitarian Space and the Destruction of Aura. State University of New York Press, Albany: Suny Press. pp. 144, 149.ISBN9781438472911.
^Hensman, Rohini (2018). "7: The Syrian Uprising".Indefensible: Democracy, Counterrevolution, and the Rhetoric of Anti-Imperialism. Chicago: Haymarket Books.ISBN978-1-60846-912-3.
^Norris, Pippa; Martinez i Coma, Ferran; Grömping, Max (2015)."The Year in Elections, 2014".Election Integrity Project. Archived fromthe original on 15 April 2021.The Syrian election ranked as worst among all the contests held during 2014.
Ma'oz, Moshe; Ginat, Joseph; Winckler, Onn (1999).Modern Syria: From Ottoman Rule to Pivotal Role in the Middle East.Sussex Academic Press.ISBN1-898723-83-4.
Tucker, Spencer C.; Roberts, Priscilla (2008).The Encyclopedia of the Arab-Israeli Conflict: A Political, Social, and Military History.ABC-CLIO.ISBN978-1-85109-841-5.
Zisser, Eyal (2007).Commanding Syria: Bashar Al-Asad And the First Years in Power. I.B. Tauris.ISBN978-1-84511-153-3.
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