Syria from revolution to counter-revolution, how it happened and why - a reading guide

There has been much confusion on the left about the events that have unfolded in Syria in the past five years, with some supporting Assad as a supposed "anti-imperialist", while others have supported the so-called "Syrian revolution", de facto ending up in the same camp as the western imperialists who support the so-called "moderate rebels". In order to cut though this fog of confusion it is necessary to analyse the nature of the Assad regime, what it was and what it became, and also the process which cut across the initial revolutionary movement of the Syrian youth in 2011, transforming revolution very quickly into counter-revolution. Here we provide a list of the key articles we have produced on this process.

What the Assad regime was and what it has become by Fred Weston - March 2013

- An analysis of the development of modern Syria from the 60's until the revolution. This article also sheds light on the reasons why the Syrian revolution did not develop in the same direction as the Egyptian and Tunisian ones.

 

Syria: Reaction on both sides of the divide! by Mousa Ladqani - August 2012

- The Syrian revolution was hijacked by reactionary Islamist forces during 2012. In this article we analyse how this happened and why.

 

Syria: Why is Assad Advancing? by Mousa Ladqani - July 2014

- The effect of the political turn of events on the direction of the civil war.

 

The Syrian Tragedy and the Imperialist Farce by

- An analysis of the crisis of US imperialism after Barack Obama had to shelve plans of bombing Syria.

 

NATO, Russia and the Syrian inferno: The impotence of imperialism by Alan Woods - October 2015

- Alan Woods analyses the Russian intervention in Syria, what it means and what it will lead to.

The Turkish provocation: Will it lead to War? by Alan Woods - November 2015

- Alan Woods weighs up the balance of forces in Syria after Turkey shot down a Russian Jet in 2015.

 

Syria: at which stage is the war? by Hamid Alizadeh - February 2016

- An overview of the development of the civil war and the effects of Russian intervention.

 

The Ceasefire in Syria: what does it mean? - by Hamid Alizadeh - September 2016

- Why did the US reluctantly accept a ceasefire in September 2016.

 

 

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