Modern Syria: From Ottoman Rule to Pivotal Role in the Middle East

Discussing how Syria has long considered itself at the center of Arab nationalism and the struggle against Zionism, this work shows how Syria’s actual grand ideological and strategic goal to achieve all-Arab unity has met obstacles in the form of political and economic conflicts between the two Ba’athist pan-Arab regimes in Damascus and Baghdad, as well as military defeat in both pan-Arab wars of 1948 and 1967. Issues such as Islamic opposition to the Ba’ath, the loss of Soviet support, Israeli military superiority, the alliance with Iran, the breaking of security protocols with Turkey, redeployment of Syrian troops out of Lebanon, and achieving the return of the Golan Heights, are addressed in relation to Syria’s ability to balance domestic advances for its people with its more international aspirations.