The World According to Bashar al-Asad

Description

Syria’s President Bashar al-Asad is widely seen today as a bloodthirsty tyrant in the wake of the over year-long brutal government crackdown against the uprising in his country. This is a far cry from the hope many had for him when he came to power in 2000 upon the death of his father, Hafiz al-Asad. He was seen as a young, pro-Western modernizing reformer, a profile quite apart from
his taciturn father. Therefore, the disappointment in him and his regime’s security solution to the uprising, rather than adequately meeting the demands for reform, has been profound. But this is for the most part a misreading of the Syrian president’s view of the world and how he and his regime cohorts see and assess the nature of threat. Bashar al-Asad is part and parcel of the stultifying and inert Syrian system, one that is geared to convulsively react to perceived domestic and foreign danger. To expect that spending 18 months in London getting an advanced degree in ophthalmology would have a deeper influence on al-Asad’s world-view rather than living amid and experiencing the Arab-Israeli conflict, the superpower cold war, the tumult in Lebanon, and the rule
of his father during the better part of his life was innately wrong.
In this essay, David W. Lesch, an American scholar specializing in Syria and who met Bashar al Asad on a regular basis between 2004 and 2009, offers a view of the Syrian president and the Syrian system in which he operates. In doing so, the rationale for the Syrian regime’s violent crackdown against protestors, its resilience, and its commitment to eradicating dissent becomes
more readily apparent. As such, the paranoia, suspicion, and determination of the Syrian leadership to remain in power will most likely lead to a continuation – and potential deterioration – of the crisis in Syria. Bashar al-Asad emerged from and is acting in a completely different reality than most can comprehend. A better understanding of this reality will help those outside of Syria to more appropriately assess and respond to Syrian policies.