Syria under the rule of Hafez al-Assad acquired the image of a bastion of intransigent anti-imperialism that made it attractive to a section of the western left. The process reflected changes in regional politics whose effects are felt to this day, say Hazem Saghieh & Samer Frangie.
Tunis and Egypt, despite still being the minority, have become the new rule, with the rest of the regimes being the exception.
