The political situation in Syria has captured the interest of many scholars since its independence in 1946, and especially with the rise of the socialist Ba’ath party, and its patron Hafez Assad,...Show moreThe political situation in Syria has captured the interest of many scholars since its independence in 1946, and especially with the rise of the socialist Ba’ath party, and its patron Hafez Assad, to power. Assad’s authoritarian rule paved the way for Ba’ath party members and his immediate family members to accumulate wealth and power. This patrimonial approach has contributed to reshaping the class system and creating different types of the bourgeoisie. When Bashar Assad succeeded his father in the year 2000, the political-economic strategy in Syria changed a little by depriving the Ba’ath party members of their privileges and giving them to other prominent government officials and members of the country’s upper and upper-middle classes through neopatrimonial approaches. The new ‘state bourgeoisie’ in Syria did not only include Alawites who are directly related to Assad, but the new order also included Sunnis and Christians who were given a chance to get wealthy by proving their loyalty to Assad and cooperating with the regime. Since the beginning of the Syrian conflict in 2011, Syrian businesspeople have either continued supporting the regime or decided to remain silent and leave the country. Although the popular narrative of the Syrian conflict is largely sectarian in nature, sectarianism is not the only significant factor. Class has played a big role in the public’s dismay and contributed to the outbreak of the uprising. The business elite’s reaction to the conflict has contributed to the longevity of the conflict one hand and that of the Assad regime on the other. The loyal elites have benefited largely from this ongoing conflict whereas others who remained neutral risked the confiscation of their properties, and that of their family, and various terrorist charges. This thesis tackles the Syrian conflict from a different angle and highlights the role of the Syrian businesspeople.Show less
The Mekong River is an important water source for the Southeast Asian states, shared among six riparian states. To meet the growing energy needs, Lao is constructing hydropower dams on the Mekong...Show moreThe Mekong River is an important water source for the Southeast Asian states, shared among six riparian states. To meet the growing energy needs, Lao is constructing hydropower dams on the Mekong mainstream which will have negative transboundary impacts. In this thesis, I focus on the absence of escalated inter-state conflict in the Mekong River Basin despite the disputed construction of hydropower dams on the Mekong mainstream. The question that I aim to answer is whether the Mekong River Commission (MRC) is accountable for the absence of escalated inter-state conflict despite the controversial construction of hydropower dams on the mainstream. I found that for the MRC to be accountable for the absence of escalated inter-state conflict, it should have applied issue linkage to settle the dispute, it should have settled the disputes through a dispute-settlement mechanism and it should have monitored the development of the river. I found that the MRC is not accountable for the absence of escalated inter-state conflict and maintenance of cooperation, because its dispute-settlement mechanism failed to settle the Xayaburi dispute and the MRC was not directly accountable for the issue linkages created. I conclude that another driving force must have been accountable for the absence of inter-state conflict.Show less
