Asad's legacy
Subtitle: Syria in transition
By: Eyal Zisser ; with a foreword by Itamar Rabinovich
Publisher: New York University Press
Published: 2001
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 218
Subjects: Syria -- Politics and government -- 1971-2000; Syria -- Foreign relations
Description: "For thirty years Hafiz al-Asad was the undisputed ruler of Syria. American presidents and Israeli prime ministers came and went but Asad remained, one of the last of the old generations of Arab leaders. Now his son Bashir is faced with an array of difficult choices in the post-Cold War Middle East. Will he allow greater civil liberties and economic liberalization, or will he permit capitalist reform but with strong, centralized one-party control? Will he make peace with Israel, and if so how quickly and at what price? Will he cement Syria's growing relationship with the United States or return to the antagonisms of the past?" "Eyal Zisser tackles these questions and examines the legacy of the man President Clinton called "the smartest leader in the Middle East as far as I.Q. is concerned." He also explores the peculiar dynamics of the Asad family with its Byzantine power plays and competing factions." "Asad's legacy is the most up-to-date, thorough treatment of Hafiz al-Asad's role in the history and politics of the contemporary Middle East. It sheds new light on the story of Asad's rule over his nation and points the way to the future of Syria and the entire region."--Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index