Draft:De-Assadization

  1. Home
  2. Wiki
  • Comment: Only this article discusses it directly but I'm not sure how much reliable it is. Gheus (talk) 04:54, 1 September 2025 (UTC)

De-Assadization[1][2][3][4][5][6] is a term describing the political process in Syria, which was characterized by the complete destruction of the legacy and any symbolics of the Assad family and the Ba'ath Party, mostly following the fall of their regime on December 8, 2024. During de-Assadization, mass destruction of any monuments and portraits depicting the Assad family and the Ba'ath Party was carried out, and laws were passed against Ba'athism and individuals previously associated with it. De-Assadization is similar to the de-Ba'athification of Iraq or the de-Stalinization of the USSR.

Background

[edit]

Ba'ath Party came to power in Syria after 1963 coup d'etat, when Military Committee of the Ba'ath party overthrew last democratically elected president Nazim al-Qudsi. The new regime almost immediately began purges in the army and the state apparatus, gradually pushing out everyone who was not connected with the Ba'athist movement,[7] declared martial law and started to introduce repressive laws that prohibited to resist "Ba'athist revolution" (such as Revolution Protection Law, passed in 1965).[8][9][10][11] The result was a successful consolidation of power by the Ba'athists, who gradually became more radical. Period of their rule became known as "Ba'athist Syria" and lasted 61 years. Those years was characterized by a totalitarian military dictatorship, socialist and nationalist policies, and massive human rights violations.[12][13][14]

Assadization policy

[edit]
Main articles: Presidency of Hafez al-Assad and Assadization

In 1970, another coup took place in Syria: General Hafez al-Assad overthrew the Marxist dictatorship of Salah Jadid, who had ruled Syria since 1966. Assad officially became the Syrian president after elections in 1971. The initial policy of the country's new leader was aimed at easing the situation within the Syria and stabilizing political relations with the rest of the world after Jadid's isolationist policy.[15][16] However, later Hafez began to stubbornly strengthen his power and the power of his close associates, returning to the side of totalitarianism.

His policy of consolidation of power became known as the Assadization (or sometimes Alawization, due to the greatly increased influence of the Alawites in all spheres of the state).[17][18][19][20] During Assadization, a cult of Assad's personality was formed, as well as state structures loyal to him personally, which were controlled by his relatives, close comrades or loyal Alawites who gained power as a result of this policy. Assad ruled Syria for nearly 30 years until his death in 2000. During these years, he was able to link Syria and the Assad dynasty, forming the concept of "Assadist Syria".

Civil war and fall of the Assad

[edit]
Main articles: Syrian civil war and Fall of the Assad regime

After Hafez's death, his son Bashar al-Assad became president. Bashar continued his father's policy of Assadization of the state, especially with beginning of the Syrian civil war in 2011. For example, since the start of the civil war, Bashar al-Assad's regime has equated religion with patriotism and openly linked religious affiliation with its security, relying on the faith of loyalists. In addition, the regime involved women in the process of Assadization of religion, under the pretext of its modernization, by appointing women to positions in religious ministries.[21] Thanks to the Assadization, Bashar was able to maintain his reliable support base for a long time during the civil war.[22] The cult of personality became even more widespread and the regime more totalitarian.[23]

But after 13 years of war, his regime surprisingly collapsed after a series of offensives by opposition forces. Several Western journalists, academics and geo-political analysts compared the fall of the Assad to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.[24][25][26][27][28][29] Meysam Karim Jaffari, a journalist affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, told reporters from The New York Times newspaper: "The Berlin Wall of unity for the Axis of Resistance has collapsed."[30]

De-Assadization

[edit]

In general, the process of de-Assadization existed before the fall of the Assad regime, in territories not controlled by the government and even outside Syria (for example, depriving Bashar al-Assad of orders previously issued to him by other countries[6]), but as a mass phenomenon and such a term, it became known only after that. Since the regime as such no longer exists, mass destruction of statues, portraits, frescoes and generally everything that in any way symbolized or personified the Assad regime or the Ba'ath Party as a whole began (in general, they took place throughout the entire time of the final offensives on the territories conquered by the opposition forces).[4][31][32][33] Thus, on December 11, rebels burned coffin of the father of the fugitive president in the city of Qardaha,[34][35] and on February 1, 2025, his largest statue was demolished in the city of Deir Atiyah.[36] On January 29, 2025, the acceptance of Ahmed al-Sharaa as the transitional president of Syria was officially announced. The new administration announced the suspension of the 2012 constitution, as well as the official dissolution and complete ban on the existence and activities of institutions associated with the overthrown regime: the Ba'ath Party itself, as well as youth organizations, the army, security and intelligence services.[37][38] At the same time, the new government announced that it would retain the official name "Syrian Arab Republic".[39][40]

The new government, aware of the mistakes of de-Ba'athification, offered a less radical option: it promised a full amnesty and the return of civil documents (which had been confiscated under Assad in exchange for military cards[41]) to all soldiers of the deposed regime's army in exchange for their surrendering all their weapons: according to the rebels, 400 arrived on the first day.[42] However, the new security forces also began to carry out operations against former regime members in hiding.[43][44][45] These operations eventually resulted in clashes with former Assadists (who were able to organize themselves and form a number of militias), and the clashes led to massacres of Alawites. Some expressed concern that de-Assadization was potentially turning into a "de-Alawization" of Syria.[2]

On March 13, President al-Sharaa signed a draft constitutional declaration that prohibited the glorification of the Assad regime and the denial/glorification of its crimes. The initial penalty for violating the article can often be six months in prison and a fine of $500, which can be doubled if the person violates it again. Article 49 of the constitutional declaration, which addresses this, consists of three points.[46][47]

The first point provides for the creation of a political body to determine ways to hold criminals of the fallen regime accountable, disseminate information about the crimes of this regime, and honor the memory of its victims.

The second point states that all war crimes committed by the deposed regime are exempt from the principle of non-retroactivity of laws.

The third point criminalizes the glorification of the deposed Assad regime and its symbols, and considers the denial of its crimes or the glorification of them to be crimes punishable by law.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Beeri, Tal (2024-12-30). "Southern Syria – Prominent Figures in the Rebel Leadership". Alma Research and Education Center. Retrieved 2025-07-07.
  2. ^ a b ""The Risks of De-Assadization in Syria: Lessons from Iraq's De-Baathification" – OPIG". intelligencegeopolitica.it. Retrieved 2025-07-07.
  3. ^ "Ильгар Велизаде: Франция не пойдет на войну ради Армении – такого не бывает! (ВИДЕО) | BUDROOO NEWS" (in Russian). 2024-12-17. Retrieved 2025-07-10.
  4. ^ a b Tak, Vot. "Бои за Хаму, «Панцирь» повстанцев и отставка командующего российскими силами. Как меняется ситуации в Сирии на пятый день военных действий". vot-tak.tv (in Russian). Retrieved 2025-07-10.
  5. ^ "«DÉ-ASSADISER» LA SYRIE: LES FUNESTES LEÇONS DE LA «DÉ-SADDAMISATION» IRAKIENNE" (PDF) (in French).
  6. ^ a b "Деасадизация: Франция лишит Асада ордена Почетного легиона » Свобода СЛОВА - портал свободных людей". svobodaslova.info (in Russian). Retrieved 2025-08-31.
  7. ^ Mufti, Malik (1996). Sovereign creations: pan-arabism and political order in Syria and Iraq. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-0-8014-3168-5.
  8. ^ "Syria's Assad ends state of emergency". Reuters. 2011-04-21. Archived from the original on 2017-09-04. Retrieved 2019-10-30.
  9. ^ "WALLS OF SILENCE: Media and Censorship in Syria" (PDF).
  10. ^ Paul, James A.; Watch (Organization), Middle East (1990). Human Rights in Syria. Human Rights Watch. ISBN 978-0-929692-69-2.
  11. ^ "Syrian Arab Republic" (PDF).
  12. ^ "Human Rights Council debates situation of human rights in Syrian Arab Republic in Special Session". United Nations:OHCHR. 22 August 2011. Archived from the original on 12 May 2023.
  13. ^ World Report 2010 Human Rights Watch World Report 2010 Archived 22 November 2017 at the Wayback Machine, pg. 555.
  14. ^ "Amnesty International Report 2009, Syria". Archived from the original on 7 October 2009. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  15. ^ Mann, Joseph (2013). "Syria, Precipitator of the Six Day War". Middle Eastern Studies. 49 (4): 547–562. doi:10.1080/00263206.2013.798306. ISSN 0026-3206. JSTOR 23470917.
  16. ^ Kerr, Malcolm H. (1973). "Hafiz Asad and the Changing Patterns of Syrian Politics". International Journal. 28 (4): 689–706. doi:10.2307/40201173. ISSN 0020-7020. JSTOR 40201173.
  17. ^ Magazine, Crisis (2019-10-01). "Assad's "eternal rule:" the long prelude to genocide". Crisis. Retrieved 2025-08-19.
  18. ^ Mukhi, Sushree Sangeeta; Tiwari, Bhupendra Bahadur; Kuriakose, Annu (2025-01-13). "On Alawization in Syria". doi.org. doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-5092918/v2. Retrieved 2025-08-19.
  19. ^ Rassas, Mohammad Sayed (2025-05-28). "The sectarian issue in Syria: agricultural and commercial roots". The Kurdish Center for Studies. Retrieved 2025-08-19.
  20. ^ "The wild men become nation (Published 1975)". 1975-05-18. Retrieved 2025-08-19.
  21. ^ Aldoughli, Rahaf (2022-06-27). "Assad Remakes Syrian Faith to Suit the Regime's Needs". New Lines Magazine. Retrieved 2025-08-19.
  22. ^ "Nuevas guerras, nueva seguridad humana. ¿Nueva Siria?". Foro Económico Mundial (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2025-07-12. Retrieved 2025-08-19.
  23. ^ "Syria's decade of repression | Human Rights Watch". 2010-07-16. Retrieved 2025-01-27.
  24. ^ Khatib, Lina (9 December 2024). "Assad's Fall Is the Middle East's 1989". Archived from the original on 30 January 2025.
  25. ^ Speck, Ulrich (17 December 2024). "Assad regime's fall shifts geopolitical balance in the Middle East, creating winners and losers". www.nzz.ch/english. Archived from the original on 17 December 2024.
  26. ^ Coggins, Madeline (2024-12-08). "Syrian rebel takeover will have a 'remarkable' ripple effect equivalent to the Berlin Wall, GOP rep predicts". Fox News. Retrieved 2025-09-01.
  27. ^ "Column | The Middle East grapples with Assad's stunning fall". Washington Post. 2024-12-08. Archived from the original on 2024-12-08. Retrieved 2025-09-01.
  28. ^ "'It's an utterly corrupt regime' | Macalester College professor describes fall of Assad regime a Berlin Wall moment". kare11.com. 2024-12-09. Retrieved 2025-09-01.
  29. ^ "Syria: The Middle East's Berlin Wall Has Fallen". This is Beirut. Retrieved 2025-09-01.
  30. ^ Fassihi, Nikounazar; Farnaz, Leily (8 December 2024). "Stunned Iranian Officials Try to Distance Their Country From Assad". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 10 December 2024.
  31. ^ "16 тыс. просмотров · 232 реакции | أسقط أهالي بلدة ديرعطية في #القلمون، تمثال الرئيس السابق #حافظ_الأسد، الموجود على إحدى تلال البلدة، وهو أكبر تمثال لحافظ الأسد على الإطلاق في #سوريا، من بين أكثر من 3000 تمثال نشرها النظام طوال خمسة عقود، كما تمّ إسقاط تماثيل أخرى له في مختلف المناطق السورية. | المدن - almodon". Facebook (in Russian). Retrieved 2025-07-10.
  32. ^ Salhani, Justin. "The end of fear in Syria". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2025-09-01.
  33. ^ Sosnowski, Marika (2024-12-09). "Why Bashar al-Assad's security state collapsed so dramatically in Syria". The Conversation. Retrieved 2025-09-01.
  34. ^ "Tomb of Assad's father set on fire in Syria hometown: AFP". LBCIV7. Retrieved 2024-12-11.
  35. ^ "Syria rebels burn tomb of Bashar al-Assad's father Hafez". www.bbc.com. 11 December 2024. Retrieved 2024-12-11.
  36. ^ "The fall of symbols: Toppling Hafez al-Assad's largest statue in Syria". Global Voices. 2025-01-30. Retrieved 2025-09-01.
  37. ^ Al-Jnaidi, Laith; Sio, Mohammad (29 January 2025). "Ahmad Al-Sharaa officially named Syria's transitional president". Anadolu Agency.
  38. ^ Al-Jnaidi, Laith; Sio, Mohammad (29 January 2025). "Ahmad Al-Sharaa officially named Syria's transitional president". Anadolu Agency.
  39. ^ "Syria at a Crossroad: After Mass Killings, Can They Build a Just and Inclusive Future? | Wilson Center". www.wilsoncenter.org. 2025-03-25. Retrieved 2025-09-01.
  40. ^ "Сирийская арабская республика сохранит свое название - Газета.Ru | Новости". Газета.Ru (in Russian). 2025-07-10. Retrieved 2025-07-10.
  41. ^ "Post-Assad Syria: Former soldiers give up their weapons for papers". www.bbc.com. 2024-12-29. Retrieved 2025-07-10.
  42. ^ "'We're all Syrians': Soldiers hand in weapons, hope for quiet lives". France 24. 2024-12-16. Retrieved 2025-07-10.
  43. ^ "Syria Forces Carry Out Operation Against Pro-Assad Fighters: State Media". 26 December 2024. Retrieved 2025-07-10.
  44. ^ Marsi, Federica. "Syria updates: Gov't forces battle al-Assad loyalists; hundreds killed". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2025-07-10.
  45. ^ Tawfeeq, Eyad Kourdi, Tim Lister, Mohammed (2025-03-07). "Hundreds reported killed in Syria clashes in worst violence since ouster of Assad regime". CNN. Retrieved 2025-07-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  46. ^ "Constitutional declaration criminalizes glorification of Assad: What penalties await violators?". Enab Baladi. 2025-03-14. Retrieved 2025-09-01.
  47. ^ "Syria: Constitutional Declaration Risks Endangering Rights | Human Rights Watch". 2025-03-25. Retrieved 2025-09-01.