EXAMINING STATE-BUILDING OF THE SYRIAN REPUBLIC AND THE LEGACY OF ITS COLONIAL PAST

Abstract: This research tackles essential elements of Syrian state-building processes through a structural analysis incorporating several theories and concepts including but not limited to colonialism, nationalism, military interventions, institutional development, minority rule, and eventually neocolonialism. The article reveals how minority rule and different implications of military interventions shaped today’s Syria, as well as addresses some of the current issues such as the absence of domestic political consolidation. The primary aim of this research is to contextualize the role of France—as a former colonizer, within the state-building process of Syria by examining different phases of Syria’s historical past. An examination of Syria’s political developments proved that having inherited a colonial past, the current state of Syria has also inherited an unavoidable legacy of political instability from its colonial past. Keywords: Syria, Middle East, State-Building, Colonialism, Military Interventions.