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Coup in Damascus
Syria and the birth of Arab military rule, 1949
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Carl Rihan
Language:
English
Published/Copyright:
2025
About this book
Coup in Damascus examines the military takeover of Syria in 1949, an event which precipitated the rise of authoritarianism across the region. Connecting economics, politics and history, it challenges traditional interpretations grounded in international relations by shifting the focus away from geopolitics and postcolonial studies, affirming instead the primacy of cost-calculating, utility driven political action. By bringing neoclassical and Austrian economics into contact with Middle East history, Coup in Damascus demonstrates how unsound monetary practices, the disruption of trade routes and excessive interventionism upset social and institutional equilibriums thereby leading to authoritarianism. Coup in Damascus also highlights how lingering tensions, or spillover costs, normally resolved through economic and political exchange, congested political systems thereby triggering violence and recurrence.
Author / Editor information
Carl Rihan is a political economist specialized in decision-making and economic policy in fragile settings. An associate at the German Institute of Global and Area Studies, Carl models decision-making under conditions of economic uncertainty by applying cost-based and game-theoretic frameworks onto historical data. With more than a decade of experience covering twenty-two Arab States and Fragile and Conflict-Affected Situations (FCS), he advises on stabilization and organizational strategy by combining data analytics and qualitative methods. Carl teaches at SciencesPo Paris, SciencesPo Lille, and is also the co-author of Governance Cooperation in a Conflict-Ridden Context (IIAS, 2024).
Reviews
CHOICE Recommended: Advanced undergraduates through faculty
'Rihan devotes much space to his neoclassical economic theoretical framework, with frequent references to suboptimal, collective decision-making and bargaining. Those who find the theory heavy going may still be interested in his detailed discussion of Syrian politics, such as relations with Lebanon, the aborted search for peace with Israel, and the negotiations over the TAPLINE pipeline bringing oil from Saudi Arabia. The bibliography shows Rihan’s many years of research in primary sources in Arabic, French, and English.'
P. Clawson, Washington Institute for Near East Policy
'Rihan devotes much space to his neoclassical economic theoretical framework, with frequent references to suboptimal, collective decision-making and bargaining. Those who find the theory heavy going may still be interested in his detailed discussion of Syrian politics, such as relations with Lebanon, the aborted search for peace with Israel, and the negotiations over the TAPLINE pipeline bringing oil from Saudi Arabia. The bibliography shows Rihan’s many years of research in primary sources in Arabic, French, and English.'
P. Clawson, Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Topics
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Front Matter
i -
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Dedication
iv -
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Contents
v -
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Figures
vi -
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Preface
vii -
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Acknowledgements
xi -
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Abbreviations
xii -
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Introduction
1 -
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1 Central bankers and market distorters
32 -
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2 The growing cost of consent
56 -
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3 Exploring voluntary agreements
69 -
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4 Oligarchies and accusations
84 -
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5 Diplomatic landmine
94 -
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6 The toppling of the Damascus elite
106 -
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7 Geopolitical reconfiguration
115 -
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8 Containing Greater Syria
126 -
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9 The TAPLINE negotiations
136 -
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10 Brokering a peace deal
145 -
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11 Spillover costs
155 -
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13 The borderland’s shifting cost scenarios
180 -
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14 Collective action, individualized costs
198 -
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16 Sedition in the making
224 -
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17 Ending the first interlude
234 -
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Conclusion
244 -
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Select bibliography
268
Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
June 17, 2025
eBook ISBN:
9781526151056
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook ISBN:
9781526151056
Keywords for this book
foreign policy; geopolitics; Husni al-Za'im; intelligence; international relations; Lebanon; Middle East; militarism; security; Syria
Audience(s) for this book
For a non-specialist adult audience
