Location: Syria is located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean. The climate is rainy in the winter and dry in the summer. The transitional seasons are very short and insignificant. The population is over 16 million.
History: The remains at Ebla found a few years ago have confirmed that a prosperous culture had lived in Syria in the second half of the third millennium. Ancient Syria was attacked by lots of their neighboring countries. The more powerful Akkadians defeated the kingdom of Ebla in 2250 B.C. and controlled Syria for an unknown amount of time. Egyptians also wanted to rule Syria for almost the whole second millennium B.C. but they never did. Around the 12th century B.C., Syria was attacked by sea peoples. Around that same time, they were attacked time and time again by Semitic tribes, which eventually lead to the start of new cultures.
Politics: The National Progressive Front is the political leadership in Syria. It was formed from many other parties in 1974 to make a unified political organization. The Front decides on important war or peace issues, runs the economic policy and lays down the plan for education. Syria is a democratic and socialist state. It is part of the Arab nation because it is in the constitution drafted in 1973. The constitution also says that there is three authorities:
Legislative Authority - The Legislative Authority is run by the Peoples Assembly. It uses a secret, direct and equal ballot. People are elected to the Assembly for four year terms.
Executive Authority - The head of all Executive Authority is the President. He is elected by plebiscite, which means he is nominated by the Assembly and then the people directly vote to approve or disapprove of the nomination. The term is seven years. Once approved, the president makes up his cabinet, similar to the US cabinet.
Judiciary Authority - The Judiciary is completely independent from the Executive and Legislative. The Supreme Constitutional Court decides if laws are constitutional or not.
There are also local peoples councils. This is like a local administration. These councils are popular establishments and members are elected directly, just like Assembly members. These local councils help the people express their beliefs better through non-centralized means with people close to them.
The Constitution: The constitution of Syria was adopted in March, 1973. It was voted into effect by a landslide victory. It was adopted as a permanent constitution for the country. The constitution states that the ruling system in Syria is a republic. Also, the constitution states that the official language is Arabic and Damascus is the capitol. Economic regulations in the constitution make the Syrian economy a socialist one. The constitution also tries to eliminate all forms of economic exploitation.
The constitution states that all people are equal before the law and that no man or women is to be tortured in any way or to be jailed without a verdict. Religious rights are protected so Arabs can practice any religion in any way they wish.
Sources
http://www.moi-syria.com/history.htm
Antoun, Richard T. and Quataert, Donald. Syria: Society, Culture, and Polity. New York State University Press, 1991.
By: Scott Hufford