David W. Leach’s book, Syria: A Modern History (Polity Press, 2nd edition 2019, updated to 2023), stands out as a strategic reference for understanding the roots of the crisis and prospects for solutions in Syria.
The book, spanning approximately 200 pages, offers a profound analysis of a full century of Syrian history (1918–2018+), making it a valuable intellectual tool for Syrian policymakers and activists in the reconstruction and transitional justice phases.
Methodology and Theoretical Framework:
Leach adopts an analytical historical approach that combines chronological narrative with structural deconstruction, drawing on diverse primary sources including British and French foreign ministry documents, interviews with Syrian activists, United Nations reports, and Ba’ath Party archives.
This approach avoids ideological simplification, favoring a fragmented identity model as its explanatory framework. It demonstrates how the Sykes-Picot Agreement (1916) and the French Mandate (1920–1946) produced an artificial nation-state that brought together disparate ethnic and sectarian components (Arabs, Kurds, Alawites, Druze, Christians) without any genuine basis for consensus.
The main index reflects this meticulous organization:
- What is Syria? (Geography, Demography, Identity)
- World War I and the French Mandate
- Syria amid the Cold Wars
- The 1967 Arab–Israeli War and its Aftermath
- Syria under Hafiz al-Assad: Authoritarian Ba’athism
- Bashar al-Assad in Power (Bashar al-Assad: The Illusory Reforms).
- The Syrian Uprising and Civil War (The Revolution and the War: From Protest to Collapse).
- Further Reading: A List of 100+ References, from Van Dam to Spencer.
Semester Analysis: The Roots of Collapse and the Lessons of Transition:
In Chapter 1, Leach defines Syria as a fragile geopolitical entity, emphasizing how the French Mandate divided the country into sectarian enclaves (the Alawite State, Jabal al-Druze), thus sowing the seeds of sectarianism as a political tool. He compares Syria to Lebanon, explaining how the latter partially succeeded in its sectarian formula thanks to democratic checks and balances.
In Chapters 3 and 4, he analyzes the role of the Cold War, during which Syria became an arena for Soviet-American conflict, with the 1963 coups resulting from the radical secular Ba’ath Party. He also highlights the 1967 defeat as an “institutional shock” that led to Hafez al-Assad’s rise through the Corrective Movement (1970). Chapter Five is dedicated to the era of Hafez al-Assad (1970–2000), which Leach describes as “developmental autocracy,” characterized by economic growth (8% annually in the 1970s) alongside widespread political repression (the 1982 Hama massacre being a prime example).
He cites World Bank statistics to demonstrate how corruption led to the collapse of the middle class.
Chapter Six focuses on Bashar al-Assad (2000–2011), who promised a “Damascus Spring” but quickly reverted to hereditary autocracy. The book analyzes the role of drought (2006–2010) as an economic catalyst for the revolution.
Chapter Seven—the most significant—divides the revolution into phases: peaceful protests (2011), militarization (2012), and a proxy war (2013–), with Iran and Russia playing a role as the “saviors of the regime.”
Analytical Strengths and Key Contributions:
The book is distinguished by its exceptional balance, avoiding both excessive sympathy for the revolutionaries and justification of authoritarianism. He presents a transitional model linking restorative justice (the South African model) with accountability, emphasizing the necessity of Truth Commissions to rebuild national identity. He states, paraphrased: “Syria is not a failed state, but rather a fragmented identity that needs democratic reformulation.”
The book’s strengths include:
- Its analytical brevity: 200 pages cover a century with high intensity.
- Its objectivity: it criticizes all sides (the regime, the opposition, and regional powers).
- Its international relevance: it connects the revolution to the Arab Spring and the new Cold War.
- The book’s limitations are:
- It stops at 2018, failing to cover the fall of the regime (2024).
- Its Western focus reduces local Syrian narratives (such as testimonies from Syrian actors).
Its relevance to the current Syrian situation:
Leach asserts that displacement is a structural consequence (colonial sectarianism + corruption), which supports the new government’s campaign to create a “Tentless Syria.” It also points to reconstruction as a political priority, proposing joint committees—like those we in the Syrian Future Movement advocate—to monitor implementation.
Compared to other studies (such as Nikolaos van Dam’s “Destroying a Nation”), Leach’s focus on future identity is exceptional, making him a visionary in drafting the 2025 constitution. Therefore, we recommend that the Syrian Future Movement translate it into Arabic to serve as a national reference.
Conclusion:
“Syria: A Modern History” is a model academic work that contributes to reshaping the Syrian narrative globally. We believe it deserves to be highlighted and emphasize the following:
- Publish it in Arabic translation.
- Complete it with new works and update its scope to cover 2025-2026.
