Hafez al-Assad died on 10 June 2000 . Bashar al-Assad assumed his position as the president of Syria only a month after his father ’ s death , on July 17 , 2000 . It is commonly observed that in spite of possessing the same last name , the policies of the two have vastly differed in the majority of fields , including economic , social , as well as international and foreign policies .
As far as the Baath Party ’ s leadership in Syria is concerned , it is essential to point out that the party ’ s leadership under Assad has become more focused on security , military , and intelligence services . The Regional Command , which used to be the highest organ within the party ’ s structure , has now claimed more of a subordinate role . It used to have a number of core responsibilities aimed at fostering the functions of the Baath Party 28 .
Therefore , the Baath Party ’ s operations in present-day Syria are mostly initiated , executed , and supervised primarily via military and intelligent services . Other branches of the party , such as those operating on the lower levels of the government or within individual administrative districts of Syria , have failed to bring about valuable contributions to the conflict management process . Instead , all that can be observed within these branches is isolation from the core operations of the party and failure to oversee the administrations at the provincial level , where the criticality of the security situation has made it impossible to uphold and ensure effective governance .
The Arab Spring in Syria
The end of 2010 was marked by the Arab Spring , which has come to play an essential role in the political histories of a number of countries in the Middle East . In Syria , anti-government demonstrations began on 15 March 2011 . Starting as peaceful rallies , these demonstrations escalated into fierce battles for a democratic regime and for the resignation of President Bashar al-Assad . Previous sections of this article have provided the background upon which this conflict has developed . However , considering modern-day Syria , it is essential to acknowledge that the Syrian conflict has been triggered by several problems including socio-economic causes , religious factors , intervention in the conflict by other actors , and the geopolitical location of Syria 29 . So far , the situation in Syria is improving with Assad ’ s control of the vast majority of the state ’ s territory .
28
Belhadj Souhaïl , The Decline of Syria ' s Baath Party , Carnegie Europe , 2012 , https :// carnegieeurope . eu / 2012 / 12 / 05 / decline-of-syria-s-baath-party-pub-50258 .
29
Mukhametov Rinat , Vliyaniye protsessov globalizatsii na islamskiy mir [ The Influence of Globalization on the Islamic World ]. Politicheskoye samoopredeleniye islamkogo mira v usloviyakh globalizatsii . “ Medina ” Publishing House . ( 2009 ).
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