Books by Nikolaos van Dam
Nikolaos van Dam is a Dutch diplomat and scholar, author of a classic text on Syrian politics and sectarianism, The Struggle for Power in Syria (2011). During the civil war, he served as the Dutch Special Envoy to Syria, operating from Istanbul, and had intensive contact with most of the parties involved in the conflict. His book, Destroying a Nation, reflected those experiences.
The Struggle for Power in Syria
by Nikolaos van Dam
I saw in the Robert Fisk article about your book that not only is it a must-read on Syria for us foreigners, but that all members of the Ba’ath party have been urged to read it. Do you take that as a compliment?
Yes I do, because generally the subject of sectarianism/tribalism/regionalism is a taboo subject in Syria. People in general, and the regime certainly, react very negatively to any talk about it, saying that it’s untrue, that it’s all polemic. They banned my book, but when the Arabic version was published in Cairo they brought big quantities with them from Cairo to Damascus and copied them. I see it as a compliment, because as Fisk says, it’s a highly critical book. The fact that they – and their opponents – took it seriously is a good thing. If you were to officially ask them they would not admit that, of course. My book has, by the way, also been used as obligatory literature in universities all over the world—Nikolaos van Dam
Interviews with Nikolaos van Dam
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1
Sectarianism in Syria's Civil War
by Fabrice Balanche -
2
Syria: The Fall of the House of Assad
by David Lesch -
3
The Battle for Syria: International Rivalry in the New Middle East
by Christopher Phillips -
4
The Syrian Jihad
by Charles Lister -
5
The Alawis of Syria: War, Faith and Politics in the Levant
Michael Kerr and Craig Larkin (Eds)
The best books on The Syrian Civil War, recommended by Nikolaos van Dam
The best books on The Syrian Civil War, recommended by Nikolaos van Dam
Few who knew Syria well doubted that the revolution that started in 2011 would lead to a bloodbath. But rather than helping, foreign intervention turned it into an even bigger catastrophe. Syria specialist Nikolaos van Dam recommends books that shed light on Syria’s tragic civil war.
![The best books on Syria - The Mirror of my Life [Mir'at Hayati] by General Mustafa Talas](https://fivebooks.com/images/vNlA8LMsSWXPwDkd/rs:auto:288:0:1/plain/fb/2011/05/220px-Mustapha_Tlas.jpg "The best books on Syria - The Mirror of my Life [Mir'at Hayati] by General Mustafa Talas")
The best books on Syria, recommended by Nikolaos van Dam
The veteran Dutch diplomat, Nikolaos van Dam, explains why meaningful political change in Syria will be difficult to achieve – and warns that any move towards democracy is likely to be accompanied by severe sectarian tension.
