The Civic State in Syria: Early Origins of Restrictions on Civil Society (1918–1958)

Dr. Ibrahim Daraji and Dr. Reem Turkmani May 2026

This study examines the relationship between the emerging Syrian state and organised civil society during the period 1918–1958, treating it as a foundational interaction that shaped both the boundaries of the public sphere and the nature of civic and political participation in modern Syria. The article is based on the hypothesis that restrictions on civic activity were not the product of exceptional circumstances or temporary departures from constitutional norms, but rather the outcome of a cumulative process that began during the state’s formative phase. This process was subsequently entrenched through constitutional and legislative texts, as well as administrative and political practices, which collectively and persistently redefined the public sphere in increasingly restrictive ways.

The study employs a historical and analytical approach to trace the evolution of the legal framework governing associations, political parties and public gatherings, and to analyse the decisions and practices that accompanied successive political regimes, from Arab rule and the French Mandate to independence, the period of military coups during the 1940s and 50s, and the Syrian-Egyptian union. It demonstrates that regime changes did not produce a fundamental transformation in the state’s management of its relationship with civil society; instead, the same restrictive logic was consistently reproduced through evolving legal and institutional instruments.

Three principal mechanisms that constituted the structural basis for restricting organised civic activity are addressed: first, the relative ease with which political parties and organisations could be dissolved; secondly, the systematic depletion of human resources engaged in civic action, particularly among civil servants and students; and thirdly, the codification of repression through legislation that conferred extensive powers on the Executive with respect to licensing, supervision, dissolution and sanctioning. Together, these mechanisms demonstrate that the Syrian state did not conceive of civil society as a partner within the public sphere, but rather as an object to be controlled, suppressed or co-opted in the service of state objectives.

The study concludes that the fragility of Syrian civil society, as well as the persistent debate over the civic nature of the state and the limits of public participation, are logical consequences of a long legacy of constitutional, legal and practical restriction and repression. It further argues that any credible path towards state reconstruction or constitutional and legal reform necessitates a critical re-examination of the historical foundations shaping the state civil society relationship, alongside the formulation of a new social contract grounded in inclusive societal, political and legal dialogue, free from exclusion or discrimination.