Political Events in Syria and Iraq in 1950s and 1960s

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Syria and Iraq in 1950s and 1960s Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation History of Iraq and Syria In the 1950 and 1960s the political climate in Syria and Iraq was very volatile; both countries witnessed tremendous changes in the political landscape that made way for the establishment of one of the strongest autocratic systems of government. The most salient feature in Syria and Iraq at this era was the increased resistant to democracy. Up to date the Middle East, and more specifically in Syria, the looming crisis has been fueled by lack of political space for dissent voices. With the exclusion of Israel, most states in the Middle East have scored dismally in democracy and human right field (Böwering 87). Syrian political landscape underwent crucial changes after the 1954 coup which led to the removal of power of Adib al Shishakli. The coup opened the door for the creation of democratic institutions (Fawcett 164). Evidently it resulted to the formation of the Ba’ath party that has successfully ruled Syria up to date. Though in the election that preceded the coup resulted to a dismal performance, garnering only 15 out of the 142 elective seats, the party revivified soon after to become the most popular and strongest party in Syria. At this juncture the Ba’ath party was one of the most organized political parties in Syria, challenged only by the People’s party and Syrian Communists Party. The main agenda of the Ba’ath party was to create a united Arab state, fight imperialists and initiate social reforms. In Iraq, the political climate was also sweltering but after the coup d'etat of 1963 that was engineered by the Syrian Ba’ath party, the political temperatures were reduced (Tejel 312). The Ba’athist government that was put in place was very identical to the one in Syria and it’s propagated the same agenda as it did in Syria. Circumstances that led to the
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