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Assadism is afar-left[1] variant of theneo-Ba'athist ideology based on the policies and thinking of theAssad family, which governedSyria as atotalitarianhereditary dictatorship from 1971 to 2024.[2][3] This period spanned the successive regimes ofHafez al-Assad and his sonBashar al-Assad. The Assads rose to power as a result of the1970 Syrian coup d'état, leading to the consolidation ofAlawite minority dominance within themilitary andsecurity forces. Their governance was largely characterized bynepotism,sectarianism, and ethnic favoritism.[4] The ideology enshrines the Assad family's leadership role in Syrian politics and presented the Assad regime in a verypersonalist fashion, creating a government based upon and revolving around its leader. Under this system, theSyrian Ba'ath Party portrayed the wisdom of Assad as "beyond the comprehension of the average citizen."[5] Syrian state propaganda cast Assadism as a neo-Ba'athist current that evolvedBa'athist ideology with the needs of the modern era.[6]
The Assad family cultivated extensive patronage networks, securing loyalty while monopolizing vast portions of theSyrian economy and fostering widespread corruption.[7] The Syrian Ba'ath party used its control over Syria's political, social, economic, cultural, educational and religious spheres to enforce its neo-Ba'athist ideology in the wider society and preserve the Assad family's grip on power. Hafez al-Assad's goal upon coming to power was to consolidate thesocialist state with the Ba'ath party as itsvanguard by establishing a "coup-proof" system that eliminated factional rivalries. As soon as he seized power, the armed forces,secret police, security forces, and bureaucracy were purged, subjugating them to party command by installing Alawite elites loyal to Assad.[8][9] To maintain control, although Assadism initially attempted to solve problems within the country through political maneuvering in 1970s, by the early 1980s the regime had shifted toward the use of brute force and relentless oppression, exemplified by theHama massacre in 1982 and theseveral sectarian massacres over the course of theSyrian civil war since 2011.[10] Following thefall of the Assad regime in 2024 due to a renewedSyrian opposition offensive amid the civil war, Assadists loyal to the former regime have engaged in aviolent insurgency across Alawite strongholds in western Syria.[11]
Jamal al-Atassi, co-founder ofZaki al-Arsuzi's earlyArab Ba'ath Party and later Syrian dissident, stated that "Assadism is a falsenationalism. It's the domination of a minority, and I'm not talking just of the Alawites, who control the society's nervous system. I include also the army and themukhabarat... And despite itssocialist slogans, the state is run by a class who has made a fortune without contributing—anouvellebourgeoisie parasitaire."[12] The Assad family aligned itself withIran and itsAxis of Resistance for much of its rule, contributing to aninter-Ba'athist rivalry with theSunni-dominatedSaddamistBa'ath Party inIraq.[13]
Prior to Hafez al-Assad's seizure of power in 1970, the neo-Ba'athist movement in Syria had been dominated by strongmanSalah Jadid, who came to power after asuccessful coup in 1966. Tensions between Jadid and Assad increased following theSix-Day War in 1967 andinvasion of Jordan in 1970. Hafez al-Assad took advantage of his control over the military to dismantle Jadid's support network, beforecarrying out a coup and imprisoning Jadid and then Syrian presidentNureddin al-Atassi.[14]
After Assad seized power, the ideology of neo-Ba'athism transformed into Assadism, with even greaternationalism,militarism and the now established cult of personality of theAssad family. Assadism is very different from the ideas propagated by the original leaders of theBa'athist movement,Michel Aflaq andSalah al-Din al-Bitar, which caused them great dissatisfaction with such an ideological transformation.[15][16]
Hafez al-Assad's reign was marked by the virtual abandonment ofPan-Arab ideology; replacing it with the doctrine of socialist transformation and giving overriding priority in constructingsocialist society within Syria.[17] Political participation was limited to theNational Progressive Front, the ruling coalition of Syrian Baath andMarxist–Leninist parties; entrenching itself firmly within theSoviet Bloc. The Party also began building apersonality cult around Assad and brought the elite of thearmed forces under Assad's grip and the officer corps were installed withAlawite loyalists, further alienating theSunni majority from the party.[18]
The Ba'athists initially pursued a verymilitaristic policy aimed at some kind of "mobilization of the nation to fight against the Israeli enemy." But under Assad, militarism reached new heights. Following the Syrian loss during theSix-Day War withIsrael, Hafez initiated a huge expansion of the military to achieve military parity with Israel. Assad gave a high priority to building a strong military and preparing it for a confrontation with Israel, both for offensive and defensive purposes and to enable him to politically negotiate the return of theGolan Heights from a position of military strength. He allocated up to 70 percent of the annual budget to the military build-up and received large quantities of modern arms from the Soviet Union.[19] TheSyrian Arab Army, which was mainly a conscripted force, increased from 50,000 personnel in 1967 to 225,000 in 1973, and to over 350,000 by the 1990s.
In 1973, Syria, together withEgypt, launched analmost successful war against Israel: despite facing stiffer resistance than their Egyptian allies, theSyrian army was able to break through the Israeli defenses.[20] However, due to the lack of coordination and the Egyptian operational pause from October 7 to 14, Syria faced the full fury of theIsraeli forces (who learned of Egypt's modest strategy) and were forced to retreat.[21][22] Israel again invaded Syrian territory, theBashan region, hoping to reachDamascus. However, Syria was able to stop its advance and awar of attrition began, which lasted until May 1974, when Syria signed adisengagement agreement. Although Syria did not liberate theGolan Heights, its army was not defeated, which earned Assad respect inside Syria and abroad.[23]
Bitterness towards the Assadist regime and theAlawite elite in the neo-Ba'ath and armed forces became widespread amongst the Sunni majority, laying the beginnings of an Islamic resistance. Prominent leaders ofMuslim Brotherhood likeIssam al-Attar were imprisoned and exiled. A coalition of the traditional Syrian Sunniulema, Muslim Brotherhood revolutionaries andIslamist activists formed the Syrian Islamic Front in 1980 with objective of overthrowing Assad throughJihad and establishing anIslamic state. In the same year, Hafez officially supported Iran in itswar with Iraq and controversially began importing Iranian fighters and terror groups intoLebanon and Syria. This led to rising social tensions within the country which eventually became a full-fledgedIslamist rebellion in 1982; led by the Islamic Front. The regime responded byslaughtering the Sunni inhabitants in Hama and Aleppo and bombarding numerous mosques, killing around 20,000–40,000 civilians. The uprising was brutally crushed and the Muslim Brotherhood armed movement was demolished.[24] After the uprising the government resumed its version of militaristic Leninism, repealing liberalization introduced when Assad came to power.[25]
The Assadist regime was characterized by a very large-scalemilitarization of the entire Syrian society (both men and women, as can be seen from the military parades held in Syria) and a highly militaristic propaganda in themedia andeducation system, mixed with the personality cult of Hafez al-Assad (and later Bashar). Even if a person has not yet served in the army and is a student, he will eventually receive somemilitary training, such as assembling weapons, in a schools, run by Assadistyouth organizations (such as theRevolutionary Youth Union), membership in which was mandatory.[26][27] Organizations like the RYU also carried out intensiveideological training and spread of Assadist ideas in schools, helping to create "ideologically correct" youth. School students also were taught Ba'athism and Assadism through a course known as "Political Arab Sociology".[28] The degree of Assadist's militarism of was indecently high: Syria'sair force andtank fleets were not much smaller (if not larger) than those of large European countries. In 1979, Syria was one of the four largest arms importers in the world (between 1961 and 1979, it imported weapons worth $7.4 billion, one of the highest figures).[29] According to theConstitution of Syria of 1973, Chapter 3: Educational and Cultural Principles, Article 21, it is written:
The educational and cultural system aims at creating a socialist nationalist Arab generation which is scientifically minded and attached to its history and land, proud of its heritage, and filled with the spirit of struggle to achieve its nation's objectives of unity, freedom, and socialism, and to serve humanity and its progress.[30]
Assadist propaganda outside of schools was also very strong and all-encompassing. In fact, the personality cult and ideas of Hafez al-Assad were everywhere: in society, in schools, in the media, in public places and most other places in Syria. Describing Assadism as aquasi-religion fostered by the Ba'athist state for mobilising the fealty and adulation ofSyrian citizens, Professor ofMiddle Eastern Studies atBonn International Centre Dr. Esther Meininghaus wrote:
"by drawing on religion, the Assad regime successfully sought to promote a value system ultimately rooted in theBaʿthist vision for Syrian society .... To this, we can indeed add the cult surrounding Presidents Hafez and Bashar al-Asad, whose pictures are displayed not only in public buildings and schools but taxis and shops, or ceremonies such as mass parades and/or the playing of thenational anthem during official celebrations. Also, official rhetoric has become increasingly infused with transcendental and metaphysical elements, in particular with regard to the President's personality cult. For instance, the President is addressed as the 'Eternal Leader' who will guide his people to becoming the 'true'Arab nation. The recent slogan of'Bashar, Allah, Suriyya wa-bas' (Bashar, God, and Syria – that's it) possibly best epitomises how close the regime has come to creating a Syrian public religion in its own right. Whether the outward performance of 'regime rituals' was actually fully internalised or secretly mocked, it had to be practised and obeyed."[31]
Syria, headed by the radical leftist Baath Party overtly challenged Nasser's leadership credentials by highlighting his diminished revolutionary spirit.
The change has been particularly marked under Asad. He has created a fairly popular Presidential regime: radical left, the most advanced socialist regime in the Arab world, it is progressively widening the frame to include more peasants and labourers.
The ideology propounded by the Ba'ath changed completely. The accent on Arab nationalism was discarded as was moderate socialism. Their place was taken by Syrian nationalism and extreme left-wing ideas verging on communism.
radical left-wing Ba'ath party in Syria.
The leadership now in control of Syria does not represent the gamut of the Ba'th party. It is composed mainly of extreme leftists vesting almost exclusive authority in the military wing of the party.
The period 1963 to 1970 when Asad finally succeeded was marked ideologically by uncertainty and even turbulence. It was a period of transition from the old nationalist politicians to the radical socialist Baathis ... struggle between 'moderates' and radicals was centred on the dispute whether to impose a radical left wing government and a social revolution on Syria or to follow a more moderate Arab unionist course which would possibly appease opponents of the Baath. The radicals largely held the upper hand and worked to strengthen the control of the party over the state.
In 1963 ... the socialist Ba'ath Party, seized power. The radical left wing of the party then launched an internal coup in 1966, initiating accelerated land reform
Syrian Baathist version of Arab nationalism and socialism offered plenty of points of contact with Soviet policy ... when the left-wing Baathist faction led by Nureddin Atasi came to power, accelerated Syria's rapprochement with the Soviet Union ... for the USSR Syria remained an uneasy ally whose actions were beyond control, often unpredictable and the cause of complications. The ultra-leftist slogans originating from Damascus (such as a 'people's war') were not received enthusiastically in Moscow. Mustafa Tlas, the new Syrian chief of staff, was a theoretician of guerrilla warfare and had even translated works by Che Guevara who was not particularly popular among the Soviet leaders.
influence of different views, came from the more radical left-wing nationalist groups. These groups included ... Syria's Ba'ath party which seized power in Damascus in 1963
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