Syria Study & Guide - AllRefer

* Country Profile
o COUNTRY
o GEOGRAPHY
o SOCIETY
o ECONOMY
o TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATIONS
o GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
o NATIONAL SECURITY
* Introduction
* Historical Setting
o ANCIENT SYRIA
o MUSLIM EMPIRES
+ Umayyad Caliphate
+ Succeeding Caliphates and Kingdoms
+ Ottoman Empire
o WORLD WAR I AND ARAB NATIONALISM
o THE FRENCH MANDATE
o WORLD WAR II AND INDEPENDENCE
o AFTER INDEPENDENCE
+ Shishakli Dictatorship
+ Radical Political Influence
+ United Arab Republic
+ Coups and Countercoups, 1961-70
+ Neo-Baath Dominance, 1963-66
+ The Baath Redirections of 1966 and 1970
o THE ASSAD ERA
* The Society and Its Environment
o GEOGRAPHY AND POPULATION
+ Land, Water, and Climate
+ Population
+ Density, Distribution, and Settlement
+ Vital Statistics
o THE PEOPLES
+ Arabs
+ Kurds
+ Armenians
+ Others
o STRUCTURE OF SOCIETY
+ Towns
+ Villages
+ Tribes
o THE INDIVIDUAL, THE FAMILY, AND THE SEXES
o RELIGIOUS LIFE
+ Islam
# Sunnis
# Shia
# Ismailis
+ Alawis
+ Druzes
+ Christianity
+ OTHER MINORITIES
# Jews
# Yazidis
o EDUCATION
o HEALTH
* The Economy
o GROWTH AND STRUCTURE OF THE ECONOMY
o LABOR FORCE
o ROLE OF GOVERNMENT
+ Budget
+ Revenues
+ Expenditures
+ Development Planning
o AGRICULTURE
+ Water Resources
+ Land Use
+ Land Reform
+ Role of Government in Agriculture
+ Cropping and Production
+ Animal Products
+ Agricultural Potential
o INDUSTRY
+ Energy and Natural Resources
+ Electric Power
+ Industrial Development Policy
o FOREIGN TRADE
+ Imports
+ Exports
o BALANCE OF PAYMENTS
o BANKING AND MONETARY POLICY
o TRANSPORTATION, TELECOMMUNICATIONS, AND CONSTRUCTION
o PERIOD OF ECONOMIC RETRENCHMENT, 1986-90
* Government and Politics
o CONSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK
o GOVERNMENT
+ The President and the Cabinet
+ The People's Council
+ The Judiciary
+ Local Administration
o POLITICAL DYNAMICS
+ Background
+ The Baath Party Apparatus
+ The Syrian Communist Party
+ The Power Elite
+ Post-1982 Political Developments
o POLITICAL ORIENTATIONS
+ Attitudes Toward Politics, Political Parties, and Government
+ Concepts of Nationalism, Unity, and the Arab Nation
+ Attitudes Toward Foreign Ideologies and Systems
o FOREIGN POLICY
+ Regional Foreign Relations
# Israel
# Lebanon
# Jordan
# The Palestinians
# Iran and Iraq
+ Syrian-United States Relations
+ Syrian-Soviet Relations
* National Security
o NATIONAL SECURITY DOCTRINE AND CONCERNS
o SYRIA AND THE MIDDLE EAST CONFLICT
+ Historical Background
+ Development of the Syrian Military
+ Syrian-Israeli Hostility
+ Syria and the Lebanese Crisis, 1975-87
+ Syrian-Iraqi Hostility
+ Syrian-Palestinian Tensions
+ Syrian-Jordanian Tensions
+ Syrian-Turkish Tensions
o ANTI-REGIME OPPOSITION MOVEMENTS
+ Ideologically Based Opposition Movements
+ Ethnic and Religious Opposition Movements
o THE REGULAR ARMED FORCES
+ Size, Equipment, Command Structure and Organization
# Army
# Navy
# Air Force
+ Manpower, Recruitment, and Conscription
+ Military Training
+ Conditions of Service, Morale, and Military Justice
+ Uniforms and Rank Insignia
+ Foreign Influences in the Development of the Armed Forces
+ Special and Irregular Armed Forces
# Defense Companies (Saraya ad Difa)
# Republican Guard
# As Saiqa
o SPONSORSHIP OF TERRORISM
o THE ARMED FORCES AND SOCIETY
o CIVIL POLICE AND INTERNAL SECURITY APPARATUS
o CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
* Appendix. Tables
* Glossary