Customer Reviews

Greater Syria: The History of an Ambition

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4 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(2)

 

 

This wonderful study of modern syrian politics unmasks the ambitions of Syrias leadership from King Faisal to Hafiz Asad and beyond. An eminent study by an eminent scholar, a must read for anyone interested in Syria, Ba'athism and the like.

Daniel Pipes claims that pan-Syrianism has not received the scholarly attention it deserves because most Middle East scholars focus on pan-Arabism. Pan-Syrianism is defined as the goal of uniting lesser Syria (current borders), Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Jordan (and sometimes Iraq) into what is called Greater Syria. Approximately half of the book is quotations from politicians, writers, clerics, from Syria, other Arab countries, and Europe. The citations have one goal - to show that pan-Syrianism has been a significant ideology in influencing players in Syria and neighboring countries before and after colonialism. The rest of the book consists of a narrative of the British/French/Arab/Maronite/Alawite participation in creating the borders of Syria, the Baath party and other political groups, relations between the minorities in Syria and the Sunni Muslim majority, relations between Syria and its neighboring countries (especially Lebanon), and the coups in Syria. The sheer number of quotes can get in the way after awhile, but the side benefit is extensive endnotes of primary and secondary sources on the history of modern Syria.
By the way, it did not contain too much about Israel, except the claim that minority status of the ruling 'Alawi minority would probably have been indifferent to Israel except for their desire to avoid the charge from the Sunni Muslim majority of been pro-Zionist; and a few quotes from Israelis about pan-Syrianism. I saw nothing that could be construed as anti-Arab or pro-Israel.
Whether one agrees or not with his thesis about pan-Syrianism's importance in shaping the political history of the region, the book was a good introduction to modern Syria's political history.

This Jewish author knows nothing about Syria's history. In fact after looking into his other works and watching this Jewish propogandist on Televesion, I concluded that you will be better off talking politic with your dog. This way,you will have a more objective assesment of facts.

An utter scholastic failure. Pipes lets his unfettered love for Israel get in the way.

This is a must read book for those that are interested in the history and evolution of the Greater Syria ideology that claims that the many peoples of Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and Iraq are one " Syrian People ". This book takes you into an excellently detailed history of the ideology and the various groups that have embraced the ideology and their various reasons for doing so. The latter part of the book details the rise of the Alawites in Syria and their embracing of Greater Syria and its consequences on the region.

Excellent and complete analysis of the greater Syria ideology. In this book, Daniel Pipes shows how attractive such ideology must have been in the past on many in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and even Iraq. To those not familiar with the concepts of pan-Syrianism or the "Fertile Crescent", he clarifies such notions as opposed to pan-Arabism. In doing so, he demonstrates how hard it is to eradicate existing borders, regardless of the extent of their alleged artificial character. The author demonstrates clearly the obsolete aspect of the Greater Syria ideology which dates back to the thirties and has failed to evolve with time. For instance, it overlooks the legitimacy these states have acquired over three quarters of a century, the patriotic feelings of the majority of their citizens, and the fact that they developed and evolved each in its own way. The analysis is exhaustive, and the book full of quotations and relevant historical events. Today's Middle East is one of the world's most unstable regions. Reading this book is a must to those seeking to understand the complexities of the interacting politics between the states that compose today's Middle East from the eastern Mediterranean all the way to Mesopotamia.