Coup in Damascus examines the military takeover of Syria in 1949, an event which precipitated the rise of authoritarianism across the region. Connecting economics, politics and history, it challenges traditional interpretations grounded in international relations by shifting the focus away from geopolitics and postcolonial studies, affirming instead the primacy of cost-calculating, utility driven political action. By bringing neoclassical and Austrian economics into contact with Middle East history, Coup in Damascus demonstrates how unsound monetary practices, the disruption of trade routes and excessive interventionism upset social and institutional equilibriums thereby leading to authoritarianism. Coup in Damascus also highlights how lingering tensions, or spillover costs, normally resolved through economic and political exchange, congested political systems thereby triggering violence and recurrence.
Price: £85.00
Pages: 304
Publisher: Manchester University Press
Imprint: Manchester University Press
Publication Date:
17 June 2025
ISBN: 9781526151049
Format: Hardcover
BISACs:
HISTORY / Middle East / General, HISTORY / Military / General, POLITICAL SCIENCE / World / Middle Eastern, Military history
CHOICE Recommended: Advanced undergraduates through faculty
'Rihan devotes much space to his neoclassical economic theoretical framework, with frequent references to suboptimal, collective decision-making and bargaining. Those who find the theory heavy going may still be interested in his detailed discussion of Syrian politics, such as relations with Lebanon, the aborted search for peace with Israel, and the negotiations over the TAPLINE pipeline bringing oil from Saudi Arabia. The bibliography shows Rihan’s many years of research in primary sources in Arabic, French, and English.'
P. Clawson, Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Carl Rihan is a political economist with more than a decade of experience covering twenty-two Arab States as well as fragile and conflict-affected situations (FCS). He is an associate of the German Institute of Global and Area Studies (GIGA), specialized in macroeconomic stabilization, public financial management, and institutional analysis in the Middle East and North Africa region. Carl teaches and lectures at Ecole Jeannine Manuel, SciencesPo Lille, SciencesPo Paris, and the Catholic University of Lille. He is also the co-author of Governance Cooperation in a Conflict-Ridden Context (IIAS, 2024).
Introduction
1: Central Bankers and Market Distorters
2: The Growing Cost of Consent
3: Exploring Voluntary Agreements
4: Oligarchies and Accusations
5: Diplomatic Landmine
6: The Toppling of the Damascus Elite
7: Geopolitical Reconfiguration
8: Containing Hashemite Irredentism
9: The TAPLINE Negotiations
10: Brokering a Peace Deal
11: Spillover Costs
12: The Polarization of Lebanese Politics
13: The Borderland’s Shifting Cost Scenarios
14: Collective Action, Individualized Costs
15: Pan-Syrian Unity Denied
16: Subversion in the Making
17: Ending the First Interlude
Conclusion
