Jørgen Bæk Simonsen
Osmannerrigets arvtagere – nation, stat og religion i Syrien

Engelsk summary:

The article traces the roots and the early development of Arab Nationalism in an effort to show how differently Arab nationalism expressed itself in the early 20th century. The repercussions of the establishment of the French Mandate over Syria in 1920 is analyzed and focus is placed on an analysis of the regional politics of the Syrian political system established by the Baath party in 1963 and the correction-movement of Hafiz al-Asad of 1970. The thesis of the article is the success of the nation-building process of modern Syria compared to that of e.g. Lebanon and Iraq, although the pressure on the Syrian political system has been increasing since the invasion of Iraq in March 2003. It is argued that the Syrian nation-state will endure as heir to the Ottoman Empire. Whether the present political system will endure depends on its ability and will to transform and thus respond to the demand for political reform from the opposition