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I wanted to share a few thoughts on the SSNP in Syria related to @Karam__Shaar and @sakil963's new @MiddleEastInst piece, so here it goes! https://mei.edu/publications/inside-syrias-clapping-chamber-dynamics-2020-parliamentary-elections
To begin, when most Western and ME analysts and journalists start looking at the SSNP, they see two massive blocks labeled "fascism" and "antisemitism" and go "uhhh..." they quickly look around and go "oh, what's this shiny thing over here...Islamists?" and subsequently move on.
So I give @Karam__Shaar and @sakil963 a lot of credit for including some good stuff on the party in this piece. Secular nationalism is most certainly overlooked when studying the Syrian conflict.
Why does the SSNP matter in Syria? Well, because whether in four years or 40...someday Assad and the Ba'ath will eventually no longer be in power in Syria. And the SSNP will still be around. Think about that.
Anyway, some background. Most people looking at the SSNP in Syria get it mixed up with the faction in Lebanon. This is called the Markaz, or Center faction. It is the party's largest and most influential body, based in Beirut. They are active in Syria as well.
This brings us to the Amana (trustee) faction. This is the faction of the party that was banned in Syria. Amana was carved out of Markaz in 2012 by Assad's cousin, Rami Makhlouf. Jamil Murad and others subsequently had to run as independents in the 2020 elections.
In the 2012 elections, the party members who were all Markaz suddenly found themselves in the Amana faction in Syria. Probably a lot of their supporters voted for them not even knowing which faction they were in and what not.
By 2016, however, Markaz was allowed to field its own candidates and came back. They secured a total of seven seats in the 2016 elections, and Amana was cleaned out but remained active in the country. A picture of the Markaz faction parliamentary delegation in Syria.
This isn't discussed often when writing about regime internal politics, but there is a tiny space allowed for complaining. The SSNP's Markaz faction was one of these pro-Assad groups that was allowed voice concerns and challenge the government on certain issues.
Thus the party viewed itself as a pressure valve for allowing pro-regime segments of Syrian society to let off steam. Most prominently of these was Inas Mohammed Khair al-Mallouhi, an SSNP MP representing the Tartus Governorate.
I mentioned her in my Syria Comment piece from June 2018, in which she criticized the government, and voiced concern about Russia writing Syria's constitution, and blasted the need to learn the French language. https://www.joshualandis.com/blog/juliette-el-mir-saadeh-gender-politics-and-women-in-armed-conflict-in-syria/
This brings us back to the point of the MEI piece. Ms. Mallouhi was one of those outspoken critics who subsequently lost her seat in 2020. This further shows us how much the tiny space I mentioned is closing.
Also, for anyone interested, one of those SSNP figures who won a seat, Nouhad Samaan, was featured in this old Syria Comment article from January 2015 by Dr. John Eibner. Samaan is with the Markaz faction. https://www.joshualandis.com/blog/footnotes-on-the-ssnp-comments-from-nouhad-samaan-head-of-ssnp-in-homs/
So to conclude this thread. One analysts and journalists start to push past the two big blocks I mentioned at the beginning, there is a lot of nuance, history, and stuff to explore with the SSNP and the regime. But, the question is, does it all matter? It does and here's why:
As the MEI piece points out, "The SSNP’s cross-sectarian popular base, strong mobilizational capacity, robust organizational structure, and secular doctrine had increased its ideological appeal across religious minorities — including many young Alawite men."
This presented a direct political challenge to the Ba'ath within the regime sphere. A tiny blip of a challenge, but a challenge, nevertheless. Furthermore, SSNP members, unlike today's Ba'ath, really, deeply believe in their ideology with every fiber of their being. This matters.
Imagine, someday, a Syria without Assad or perhaps, if the Ba'ath is banned. Corrupt government after corrupt government takes power, accomplishes little and falls. The SSNP could be poised to fill the space once held by the Ba'ath. Highly organized and with true believers.
I've spent the last few years researching and writing about the party and have a book coming out later this year called, "In Search of Greater Syria." https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/in-search-of-greater-syria-9781838606404/
I hope this thread was helpful and maybe you will consider buying my book! Also, maybe more researchers will be interested in investigating the party and the other parties within regime Syria. Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!
