Syrian Future Movement and the Civil State
The historical relationship between authority and people in Syria has undergone various phases, leading to a rift between monarchy and church on one side, and the Western populace on the other.
This eventually led to the solidification of the concept of the civil state, a term with many interpretations. While some accept it, others reject it, arguing that the true characteristic of a state should be secularism, not civility.
Advocates for the civil state view it as one free from military control, and some see it as a secular state, among other interpretations.
Yet, there is a general agreement that a “civil state” is one free from the coercive oversight of any authoritarian group, be it military, religious, or even nationalist.
For the state, three elements are crucial:
- Authority, in its four forms: executive, legislative, judicial, and media.
- The populace, meaning all who reside within its internationally recognized geographic borders, without discrimination, ensuring it is not monopolized by any particular group, either directly through claims of ownership or indirectly by claiming the opposite of reality.
The Syrian Future Movement aims to establish a modern Syrian civil state, taking into account its geographic location, historical civilization, and religious heritage, acknowledging and not excluding celestial religions, and adhering to a set of human values, whether in choosing the leadership or the people’s representatives, within the framework of national constants and strategic plans.
The Syrian Future Movement supports building a civil state as an organizational structure for managing the affairs of its citizens and protecting them from chaos.
The Syrian Future Movement rejects and combats an authoritarian state and absolutist political ideology, both in theory and practice.
The Syrian Future Movement sees the need to agree on the spirit of the civil state, respecting the uniqueness of our Syrian experience, the composition of our people, and our culture.
The Syrian Future Movement advocates for a civil state where the people’s will prevails in governance, administration, and management.
The Syrian Future Movement believes that a civil state is based on constitutional legitimacy, through a voluntary contract between the people and the authority to manage the public affairs of the people.
The Syrian Future Movement believes that a healthy civil state is based on political legitimacy, through the people’s delegation of the four powers to function effectively, without despotic direction or self-serving imposition.
The Syrian Future Movement views the civil state as one based on the true power of the people, from which other authorities are derived and whose positive, constructive role in society is fostered.
The Syrian Future Movement believes that the establishment of a civil state cannot occur without the sovereignty of the people’s will, represented by “the law”, to encompass and govern all, serving the entire society, not just a limited faction.
The Syrian Future Movement sees the civil state as a contractual state, thus obliged to guarantee the rights of its people and those living on its land.
