While Bathi Syria is often considered the last bastion of Arab socialism, President Asad's regime has introduced sweeping economic change over the last decade. Gradual and discreet in the mid-1980s, economic reform quickly gained momentum and culminated in the revolutionary investment law of 1991. Removing all distinctions between domestic, expatriate and foreign capital, the law has already tipped the balance against the public sector and in favour of the private sector. At the same time, political repression has eased and a greater degree of participation has been introduced. Both economic and political change coincide most strikingly with Syria's participation in the Arab-Israeli 'peace process'. . Comparing these changes to similar ones elsewhere in the Middle East and in the Third World, this book analyses the complex relationship between processes of economic and political liberalization in the domestic arena as well as their international repercussions. While contributing to theoretical debates, the contributors focus primarily on key practical issues and, on the basis of hard data and wide-ranging knowledge of the region, develop well-founded scenarios for the future development of Syria and its role in the Middle East.

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