Recent scholarship on Syria has been overwhelmed by analysis of the
civil war. This book addresses the modern history neglected by academics
over the last ten years.
Written by renowned Syrian historian, Sami Moubayed, it covers the late
Ottoman era to the years of the Syrian-Egyptian Union (1958-1961) and
its immediate aftermath, known as the Succession Era. The book present
readers with a Syria that is very different from the Syria of today. The
chapters depict a country driven by a need to experiment with different
forms of government, ranging from monarchism in 1918-1920, federalism in
the 1920s, republicanism after 1932, and autocracy from 1949. The book
also includes controversial historical episodes, most of which have not
been written about in English before: political murder, the history of
the Syrian presidency, French colonialism, federalism, secularism,
authoritarianism, higher education, monarchism, and the start of Syria's
socialist economy in 1961. In showing a Syria that is rich politically,
economically, culturally and socially, the author argues that this Syria
could serve as a blueprint for the Syria of tomorrow.
The book relies heavily on British archives and first-hand interviews
with figures who were active between the 1930's and 1950's. It draws
together the key English and Arabic works by the author - currently
available only in hard-to-reach journals - with additional new chapters
to establish this book as a comprehensive historical account of the
period.
