Disenchantment with the ‘New World Order’: Syria's Relations with the United States
| Author | Meredith Reid Sarkees,Stephen Zunes |
| Published date | 01 June 1994 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002070209404900208 |
| Date | 01 June 1994 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
MEREDITH
REID
SARKEES
&
STEPHEN
ZUNES
Disenchantment
with
the
'new
world
order':
Syria's
relations
with
the
United
States
Until
1991
the
policy
of
the
United
States
towards
Syria
was
based
on
a
perception
of
that
country
as
a
hard-line
pro-Soviet
state,
intractable
in
its
opposition
to
Israel,
and
an
active
spon-
sor
of
terrorism.
The
Iraqi invasion
of
Kuwait
and
Syria's
subsequent
participation
in
Operation
Desert
Storm
revealed,
however,
a
coincidence
of
interests
between
the
United
States
and
Syria
which
portended
a
shift
in
their
relationship.
Syria's
decision
to
co-operate
in
the
coalition
against Iraq
entailed
numerous
costs, yet
it
was
made
with
the
expectation
of
certain
benefits, most
of
which
related
to
an
anticipated
improvement
in
relations
with
the
United
States.
The
failure
of
many
of
these
benefits
to
materialize
is
leading
to
disillusionment
within
Syria
with
President
Hafiz
al-Assad's
policy
of
co-operating
with
the
West. Many Syrians
now
feel
that
the
value
of their
co-operation
has
not
been
recognized or
even
that
they
have
been
betrayed
by
the United
States
-
feelings
which
may
delay
further
political
and
economic reforms
in
Syria
and
may
also
strengthen
the
influence
of
both
secular
and religious
hard-liners.
PAST
RELATIONS
In
contrast
to
the
almost
exclusively
negative
characterizations
of
Syria
by
Americans
in
recent
decades,
Syrian
perceptions
of
MEREDITH
REID
SARKEES
is
Associate
Professor
of
Political
Science,
Niagara
University,
New
York.
STEPHEN
ZUNES
is
executive
director
of
the
Institute
for
a
New
Middle
East
Policy
in
Bainbridge
Island, Washington,
and
a
visiting
assistant
professor
in
the
Department
of
Politics
and
Government,
University
of
Puget
Sound,
Tacoma.
International
Journal
XLIX
SPRING
1994
356
INTERNATIONAL
JOURNAL
the
United
States
have
been
contradictory.
On
the
one
hand,
Syrians
have
traditionally
been
well
disposed
towards
Americans
for
a
number
of
reasons,
including
the
history
of
American
edu-
cational
institutions
in
the
Middle East,
the
fact
that
many
Syr-
ian
government
officials
were
educated
in
the
United
States,
and
the
family ties
of
many
Syrians
to
relatives
who
emigrated
to
the
United
States.
This favourable
view
was
in
evidence
as
early
1919,
when
the
Syrians
requested
the
United
States
as
their
mandatory
power
if
they
could
not
have
independence.
The recommendations
by
the
American-sponsored
King-Crane
Commission
upholding
the
Syrian
desire for
independence
and
President
Woodrow
Wilson's
support,
albeit
unsuccessful,
for
their right
to
self-determination
are
still
remembered
with
great
respect.'
On the
other
hand,
Syrian
views
of
the
United
States
are
also
governed
by
a
belief
that
its
government
is
determined
to
deny
that
Syria
has
legitimate
regional
interests
and
to
reduce
Syrian
influence
as
much
as
possible.
2
This
conclusion
is
based
on
a
series
of
actions
which
are
deemed
to
demonstrate
the
hostility
of
the
United
States
towards
Syria.
Raymond
Hinne-
busch argues
that
'Syria's
foreign
policy
is
ultimately
rooted
in
the
historical
frustration
of
Syrian
nationalist
aspirations
by
Western
imperialism.'3
As
the
United
States
'became
Israel's
chief
benefactor,
Syrian
attitudes
of
displeasure
with
u.s.
policy
in
the
area
began
to
harden."'
Syrians
perceive
a
double
stan-
dard
operating
when
the
determinants
of
United
States
policies
towards
Israel
and
Syria
are
compared,
with
Israel
being
rewarded
and
Syria
being
punished
for
the
same
types
of
behav-
1
Private discussions
with
Dr
Elias
Samo,
director
of international
studies,
Uni-
versity
of
Aleppo, Aleppo,
3oJune
1992
and
2
May
1993.
2
Talcott
W.
Seelye,
U.S.-Arab
Relations:
The
Syrian Dimension
(Portland
OR:
Port-
land
State
University
1985),
foreword
by
David
Dodge.
3
Raymond
A.
Hinnebusch,
'Revisionist
dreams,
realist
strategies:
the
foreign
policy
of
Syria,'
in
Bahgat
Korany
and
Ali
E.
Hillal Dessouki, eds,
The
Foreign
Policies
of
Arab
States:
The
Challenge
of
Change
(2nd
ed;
Boulder
co:
Westview
1991),
374.
4
Seelye,
U.S.-Arab
Relations,
3.
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