DOI: 10.22281/2413-9912-2018-02-01-157-163
Khodynskaya-Golenishcheva M.S.,  Sapronova M.A.
Secular and ethnoconfectional aspects of the Syrian political system before the «Arab Spring» (2000-2011)
The article is devoted to the peculiarities of the politico-cultural and socio-economic policy of President Bashar Assad. The author draws attention to the origins of the formation of the current political regime in Syria, as well as the challenges that the country faced at the beginning of the XXI century. The author states that the preservation of ethnic and confessional balance was the most important task for the Syrian government. The article argues that that this task was solved through gradual liberalization in the sphere of economy and political life. Given the fact that key positions in the state were mainly occupied by the Alawites, the article explores the secularism of the political regime, equidistance from ethnic and religious minorities. The main conclusion is the following: with the beginning of the «Arab Spring» the process of political rebalancing was interrupted due to interference in the crisis of external players, including the countries of the region (KSA, Qatar, Turkey, Iran). Thus the society split was forged in accordance with confessional lines.
Keywords: Bashar al-Assad, Syria, Syrian crisis, world order, secularism, liberalization, ethnic minorities, religious balance.

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