Re: [Marxism] Syria: From National Independence to Proxy War | Louis Proyect: The Unrepentant Marxist

[A.R. G via Marxism]

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>It is a shame that those without such connections will likely never be
able to afford books that are essential in developing a class rather than a
geopolitical understanding of what took place in Syria.

FYI both books are available for free on LibGen.is

Amith R. Gupta


On Fri, May 15, 2020 at 11:10 AM Louis Proyect via Marxism <
marxism@lists.csbs.utah.edu> wrote:

>   POSTING RULES & NOTES  
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>
> Ever since the civil war began in Syria in early 2011, the left has
> largely ignored the social and economic circumstances that led to a
> conflict costing over a half-million deaths and the migration—internal
> and external—of half the population. The tendency was to see Syria as a
> piece on a global chessboard with “the axis of resistance” fending off
> attacks from the West. There was lip-service to the idea that Syrians
> had legitimate grievances against the government early on, but by the
> end of 2011, the “anti-imperialist” consensus was that the rebels were
> jihadists interested more in fighting unbelievers than inequality.
>
> To my knowledge, the first attempt at an analysis of the internal class
> contradictions appeared in 2015. Long-time Syria scholar Raymond
> Hinnebusch and Tina Zintl edited a collection titled “Syria from Reform
> to Revolt: Volume 1: Political Economy and International Relations”. (A
> second volume never appeared.) I found this book invaluable in writing
> an article titled “The Economic Roots of the Syrian Revolution”. My goal
> was to demonstrate that a rural agrarian crisis provided the fuel for an
> uprising. An article by Myrian Ababsa provided statistics that revealed
> the depths of misery that led to the revolt. In 2009, 42 percent of
> Raqqa governorate suffered from anemia owing to a shortage of dairy
> products, vegetables, and fruit. Malnutrition among pregnant women and
> children under five doubled between 2007 and 2009. That was the cause of
> the conflict, not Saudi desire to impose shariah law on the country.
>
> full:
>
> https://louisproyect.org/2020/05/15/syria-from-national-independence-to-proxy-war/
>
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[Marxism] Syria: From National Independence to Proxy War | Louis Proyect: The Unrepentant Marxist

[Louis Proyect via Marxism]

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Ever since the civil war began in Syria in early 2011, the left has 
largely ignored the social and economic circumstances that led to a 
conflict costing over a half-million deaths and the migration—internal 
and external—of half the population. The tendency was to see Syria as a 
piece on a global chessboard with “the axis of resistance” fending off 
attacks from the West. There was lip-service to the idea that Syrians 
had legitimate grievances against the government early on, but by the 
end of 2011, the “anti-imperialist” consensus was that the rebels were 
jihadists interested more in fighting unbelievers than inequality.


To my knowledge, the first attempt at an analysis of the internal class 
contradictions appeared in 2015. Long-time Syria scholar Raymond 
Hinnebusch and Tina Zintl edited a collection titled “Syria from Reform 
to Revolt: Volume 1: Political Economy and International Relations”. (A 
second volume never appeared.) I found this book invaluable in writing 
an article titled “The Economic Roots of the Syrian Revolution”. My goal 
was to demonstrate that a rural agrarian crisis provided the fuel for an 
uprising. An article by Myrian Ababsa provided statistics that revealed 
the depths of misery that led to the revolt. In 2009, 42 percent of 
Raqqa governorate suffered from anemia owing to a shortage of dairy 
products, vegetables, and fruit. Malnutrition among pregnant women and 
children under five doubled between 2007 and 2009. That was the cause of 
the conflict, not Saudi desire to impose shariah law on the country.


full: 
https://louisproyect.org/2020/05/15/syria-from-national-independence-to-proxy-war/


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