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Bassam Haddad
As Syria Free-Falls . . . A Return to the Basics: Some Structural Causes (Part 2)
[This is Part 2 of “As Syria Falls.” Part 1 can be accessed here] Amid the mounting and tragic violence, loss of life, and loss of Syria, it seems difficult to write about history and causes. Yet it is equally difficult to write critically about the current chaos, precisely because of the information gap. One also wonders, what can be said about Syria anymore? In this vein, and following the despair in the first part of this article, I retreat to the basics, to what we ...
Keep Reading »هل كان الربيع العربي جديراً بذلك كله؟: غطرسة السلطة التي تذهب بالعقل
إنها البداية فحسب كنا على وشك ركوب الطائرة من واشنطن إلى إسطنبول، عندما ظهرت هذه الصورة على الشاشة عند البوابة: عنوان على قناة سي إن إن: "هل كان الربيع العربي جديرا بذلك العناء كله ؟" اعتاد المرء، عموماً، أن يرى ويسمع تعليقات "خاصة" حول المنطقة في وسائل الإعلام الرئيسية. ولكن، بين الفينة والأخرى، يطل برأسه علينا أمر شديد الإثارة، يبعث فينا الدهشة. ولعل هذا العنوان واحد من تلك التقارير، التي باتت تعبّر عن المزاج الغالب لما تقدمه ليس فقط الـ سي إن إن، ...
Keep Reading »"Was the Arab Spring Really Worth It?": The Fascinating Arrogance of Power
[Here is the original story from CNN. It was brought to our attention that there was an online version. Also, the article below was translated into Arabic here.] This is just the beginning. As we were boarding a flight from Washington to Istanbul, this image appeared on the screen at the gate, with the CNN headline, “Was The Arab Spring Worth It?” Generally, one is used to seeing and hearing very “special” commentary about the region from the mainstream ...
Keep Reading »As Syria Free-Falls . . . A Return to the Basics (Part 1)
Lest we forget, or forget why, it has become important to consult the basics regarding the Syrian uprising. This might very well be the best time for such a review. For as the death toll rises and the gradual destruction of the social fabric continues, the Syrian tragedy is increasingly more about the fall of Syria(ns) than the fall of the Syrian regime. One result has been analytical helplessness, which prompts a return to the basics. Those of us who follow ...
Keep Reading »خمسون دقيقة مع مناف طلاس
[نشر هذا المقال للمرة الأولى باللغة الإنجليزية في مجلة "مدل إيست ريبورت"، وترجمه إلى العربية وائل سواح.] أثناء إحدى زياراتي الدورية إلى سورية، كنت مع مجموعة من الأصدقاء في مطعم من تلك المطاعم الصاخبة التي بدأت تغزو بكثافة المدينة القديمة المحيطة بحي باب توما في دمشق. ليست هذه المطاعم سواء، فبعضها كان أكثر ازدحاماً، وغالباً ما يتردد عليه الأجانب وطبقة معينة من المجتمع الدمشقي تضم افراداً مؤيدين للنظام، وآخرين معارضين له. وتجدر الإشارة إلى أنه في أواسط العقد ...
Keep Reading »My 50 Minutes with Manaf
During one of my regular visits to Syria, I was with a group of friends at one of the bustling new restaurant-bars that dotted Damascus’ old city, around Bab Touma. Some places were more popular than others, frequented by internationals and a particular stratum of Damascene society that included some people who were pro-regime and others who were opposed. By the mid-2000s, one’s opinion of the regime did not matter much, in and of itself. What brought these Damascenes ...
Keep Reading »The Current Impasse in Syria: Interview with Haytham Manna' [Now with full English transcripts + all videos]
On 27 April 2012, around the Jadaliyya Co-Sponsored Conference at Lund University ("Contesting Narratives, Location Power"), I sat down for an extensive interview with Haytham Manna`, one of the icons of the independent Syrian opposition and a leading founder of the National Coordinating Body for Democratic Change (in Syria). The interview was long and candid, and addressed several topics, including the current impasse in Syria, the stages and transformation of the ...
Keep Reading »Ajamindustry
It is problematic enough that Fouad Ajami repeats much of the reductionist arguments about all things Arab in his new book on Syria's rebellion, but then the New York Times must stumble upon this book, and review it. I will not attempt to review the book itself, for critiquing Mr. Ajami has become like critiquing Fox News: there is no gain. Instead, I will seize the opportunity and examine the review in the Times, as it reproduces not only Ajami's faulty—though always ...
Keep Reading »Hizballah, Development, and the Political Economy of Pain: For Syria, What is "Left" (Part 3-Final)
[This is a third part in a series under the title of "For Syria, What is Left?" The first two parts can be accessed (1) here and (2) here. Arabic Translations can be found (1) here and (2) here.] The enormity of the unfolding tragedy in Syria will dwarf the content of the analysis below. I have been waiting for the right time to complete this series, but matters kept getting worse, and we are now looking into the abyss. But this is ...
Keep Reading »Homsi Comic Relief Speaks of Strong Spirits Despite All
Two youngish Syrian men in Homs discuss "Bashar's Reforms" (islahaat) while pointing to the destruction of their homes (we don't know if these are indeed their homes, but that's immaterial here) and cars. The script itself is clean and elegant as it is acerbically satirical. (though some of the comments under the Youtube video are disturbingly/disgustingly sectarian). There really is nothing to say except that it is worth watching. I apologize for not ...
Keep Reading »welcome back . . .
I was just flying back from Amman to Washington DC on United Airlines, sitting at an aisle seat. As I looked to my left diagonally across the aisle, I saw four UA screens playing the same film, Sex in the City (2). (read reviews here, here, and here, though they don't all do justice to it--if you have other piercing reviews, please post them in the comments section. Watch the trailer here). I looked to the lady sitting to my right, and she's reading a book, which seemed to ...
Keep Reading »What's With World Cup Praying?
I don't have time to write about this now, but what's with world cup praying on behalf of so many players in the field (especially those coming in and out)? I've been watching football (the original football where one mostly uses their feet--the plural of foot, hence, "footbal"--not the sport where one mostly holds the ball using their hands) since 1974, and I have yet to witness such frequency of praying and exhibition of religious symbols. Could the economist be ...
Keep Reading »Bio
Bassam Haddad is Director of the Middle East Studies Program and teaches in the Department of Public and International Affairs at George Mason University, and is Visiting Professor at Georgetown University. He is the author of Business Networks in Syria: The Political Economy of Authoritarian Resilience (Stanford University Press, 2011). Bassam is currently editing a volume on Teaching the Middle East After the Arab Uprisings, a book manuscript on pedagogical and theoretical approaches. His most recent books include two co-edited volumes: Dawn of the Arab Uprisings: End of an Old Order? (Pluto Press, 2012) and Mediating the Arab Uprisings (Tadween Publishing, 2013). Bassam serves as Founding Editor of the Arab Studies Journal a peer-reviewed research publication and is co-producer/director of the award-winning documentary film, About Baghdad, and director of the critically acclaimed film series, Arabs and Terrorism, based on extensive field research/interviews. More recently, he directed a film on Arab/Muslim immigrants in Europe, titled The "Other" Threat. Bassam is Co-Founder/Editor of Jadaliyya Ezine and serves on the Editorial Committee of Middle East Report. He is the Executive Director of the Arab Studies Institute, an umbrella for five organizations dealing with knowledge production on the Middle East and Founding Editor of Tadween Publishing.
