The Struggle for Syria: A Study in Post-War Arab Politics, 1945 - 1958 PDF
Preview The Struggle for Syria: A Study in Post-War Arab Politics, 1945 - 1958
THE STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA The Royed Institute of International Affairs is an unofficial body which promotes the scientific study of international questions and does not express opinions of its own. The opinions expressed in this publication are the responsibility of the author. i. General Sir Edward Spears in Damascus, ^945 2. The Old Serai ,Damascus Frontispiece T h e Struggle for Syria A Study of Post-War Arab Politics «945 «958 - PATRICK SEALE Issued under the auspices of the Royal Institute of International Affairs O X FO R D U N IV E R S IT Y PRESS LONDON NEW YORK TORONTO 1965 Oxford University Press, Amen House, London E.C.4 OLAJOOW NEW YORK TORONTO MELBOURNE WELLINGTON BOMBAY CALCUTTA MADRAS KARACHI LAHORE DACCA CAPE TOWN SALISBURY NAIROBI IBADAN ACCRA KUALA LUMPUR MONO KONO © Royal Institute of International Affairs 1965 Printed in Great Britain by Haxell Watson & Viney Ltd., Aylesbury, Bucks For my mother and father Preface T his book deals 'with a recent and highly controversial period of Arab history: the dozen years or so after the Second World War when Arabs first achieved something approaching real independence and were able to exercise an independent foreign policy. The roots of much that is happening in the Middle East today were then put down. To Arab readers I would like most earnestly to say that I have tried to be fair and objective although I may not always have suc ceeded. This is not a book for or against any particular Arab leader, party, state, or doctrine. I wanted to explain and illumine the back ground to some contemporary problems, not to add fuel to present-day feuds. I would be glad if Syrians, in particular, would accept the work, with all its flaws, as a tribute to a country to which I am greatly attached. I am deeply grateful to the Warden and Fellows of St Antony's College, Oxford, for granting me a scholarship to write this book. My main debt is to Mr Albert Hourani, director of the Middle East Centre at St Antony's, for his teaching, guidance, and affectionate encouragement at every stage. To Miss Elizabeth Monroe I owe the enormous stimulus of a friendship nearly ten years old. Mr Hourani, Miss Monroe, and Professor Bernard Lewis read and criticized the typescript, detecting many errors. I am also very grateful to Mr Peter Calvocoressi and to friends at the American University of Beirut, Hanna Batatu, Joseph Malone, Yusuf Ibish, David Gordon, and Khaldun al-Husri, for many valuable suggestions. I owe a special debt to the staff of the Chatham House Press Library, to Miss Jill Sangster for typing the manuscript, to Miss Hermia Oliver of the editorial department of Chatham House for her elegant scalpel work in preparing the book for the press and to Mr C. H. Inge for com piling the index. July 1Ç64 P.S.
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