From Reform to Revolt: Bashar al-Assad and the Arab Tribes in Syria

The death of Hafez al-Assad and the succession of his son, Bashar, brought an end to the system of government that Hafez had built up over decades. Hafez al-Assad built an authoritarian state based on patronage networks that connected his regime to the society. These networks allowed the state to become the major source of employment for the tribes and to clientise their Sheikhs through distributive social policies, thus securing the regime’s survival. In contrast to his father’s rule, under Bashar these patronage relationships have been affected by the policies of privatisation and liberalisation.