A01=Carsten Wieland
Author_Carsten Wieland
Category=JBSR
Category=JPS
Category=NHG
eq_bestseller
eq_history
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_society-politics
Product details
- ISBN 9781850658016
- Publication Date: 02 Aug 2006
- Publisher: C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Paperback
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Immediately after the US-led invasion of Iraq, which was opposed by the Syrian government of Bashar al-Asad, there were real fears that Damascus would be next in line for 'regime change'. This perception was reinforced by Washington's rhetoric and its claims that the post-invasion Iraqi insurgency is being assisted by the Syrian intelligence service. The assassination of the Lebanese prime minister, Rafiq Hariri, compounded this pressure, with many observers pointing the finger at Damascus. The repercussions of his murder were anything but beneficial: Syria was compelled to withdrew its troops from Lebanon, where they had been stationed for nearly three decades. On the domestic front, Bashar is caught between hardliners and an increasingly impatient opposition. But will international pressure precipitate long overdue political reforms, or might it rebound, stifling the albeit hesitant relaxation of internal controls? Wieland argues that the West must not ignore Syria's robust tradition of secularism, and cautions that US attempts to undermine the current regime may, paradoxically, embolden the Islamists and help the regime to maintain its authoritarian grip on power.
Trained as a historian in Germany, America and India, Carsten Wieland is Middle East correspondent for Deutsche-Presse Agentur (DPA)
