Economic Policy and Class Structure in Syria: 1958–1980
It is indeed an interesting endeavor to investigate the impact of economic policies on social stratification. Doing so enables us to see to what extent economic policies bring changes in class structure in a society. We take the case of Syria to study its economic policies and their accompanying impact on the evolving pattern of the Syrian elite from the late 1950s to the early 1980s and then look at accompanying impact on class structure. The two poles or aspects of this paper are (1) economic policies themselves and (2) their impact on class structure. The question that we are going to raise in the first pole is the following: what is the nature of the economic policies? This refers to land reforms, industrial and commercial reforms, and foreign trade controls.
The Syrian political elite, 1966–1976: a spatial and social analysis
It has been fifteen years since that Ba'th party seized power in Syria through a military coup d'etat. Approximately 48 per cent of all Syrians - those born after the 1963 revolution - have never known anything but Ba'thi rule.' Major economic, social, and political reforms have destroyed the country's traditional landowning and mercantile elite and fundamentally modified the distribution of wealth, power, and opportunity. Yet our knowledge of those who engineered this transformation and who now make the principal political decisions within Syria remains remarkably incomplete.2 Few other Middle Eastern political elites have escaped systematic examination so completely, as the wealth of studies on the leaders of other countries within the region testifies.3 The dearth of comprehensive statistical analyses of the Syrian political leadership's composition since the revolution has left unanswered fundamental questions about the nature and performance of the Ba'thi regime. This deficiency has largely been excused on the grounds that 'the lack of hard data on Syria is all too apparent'.4 Syria, it has been noted, 'is one of the few countries of the Middle East of which almost no sociological studies have been carried out in the last fifteen years',5 a reflection, perhaps, of the pervasive belief that 'no research pertaining to contemporary politics or having obvious political connotations should be attempted within Syria.'6 This study has two primary purposes. First, it seeks to reduce the gap in our knowledge of contemporary Syrian politics by describing the origins and social background characteristics of a predefined sample of elite members, focusing on their geographical origin, religious affiliation, class, age, education and occupation. Second, it attempts to assess the extent to which these various attributes of identity are salient predictors of political attitudes and allegiances and to evaluate the bearing which the elite's collective social background has had on the regime's policies. Throughout, an effort is made to compare Syria's political leadership both with its ancien regime predecessors and with the elites of other Middle Eastern nations.
Expansion without equity: An analysis of current policy on access to higher education in Brazil
Access to higher education in Brazil is to a large extent restricted to the higher socio-economic groups. Public universities have limited places and entry is determined by highly competitive exams, thereby excluding those who have not had a high quality secondary education or attended an expensive preparatory course. There has been considerable growth in the private sector to absorb the excess demand, but the majority of Brazilians cannot afford the fees. This paper develops a concept of equity in higher education in which, firstly, there should be sufficient places in the system as a whole and, secondly, all people should have a fair opportunity of attending the university of their choice regardless of socio-economic background. Recent efforts to expand access are analysed, including incentives for the growth of private universities, student loans and the new Prouni initiative, in which private institutions provide free places to low-income students in return for tax exemptions. While these initiatives have the potential to increase the total number of places, they will not lead to an equitable expansion, as disadvantaged students will still be confined to courses of lower quality or with lower subsequent value on the employment market. Initiatives aimed at the public sector such as the introduction of quotas and changes to entry examinations are also discussed. Finally, some implications for future policy development are outlined.