Blog Post #2

My Article

    The article I chose to write this blog post about discusses Bashar al-Assad's family history. It explains his father's (the ex-president Hafez al-Assad) ascension to power through a mixture of political backstabbing and power grabs. This article also describes Hafez's attempts at diplomacy with the U.S. so that we would leave Syria relatively alone. This article details how Bashar inherited a country that was tightly controlled under Hafez's iron rule and then let go of some of his father's policies that were used to control Syria, such as restrictions on travel and Internet.
    This article applies to AP Government because it discusses the policies of a leader of another country. It's amazing to compare the al-Assad dynasty with our system of electing presidents the democratic way because their control over Syria is incredibly shaky, while our democratic system is relatively strong and well-organized. This article also relates to AP Gov. because it discusses the political culture of Syria right now. Their political culture seems to be very controlling and stifling, as it's run by this cruel dictator.
    I found this article fascinating to read because it illustrate the influence of a parent on a child's politics. Clearly Bashar al-Assad was negatively influenced by his father as a young child. However, I think Hafez al-Assad was more skilled at being a dictator because he understood that allowing citizens to have basic rights such as freedom of transportation and speech *on the Internet) would let them be able to plot against him and possibly overthrow him. Bashar al-Assad didn't seem to realize this and has realized how rebellious his citizens are when given basic human rights.