'Patriotic Education' under the Assad Regime: The Political System Explained
Excerpt from an old textbook
Under the Assad regime, one of the subjects taught in schools was ‘Patriotic Education’ (Arabic: tarbiya wataniya). Now abolished since the overthrow of the Assad regime, the subject sought to explain the political system in Syria and prepare students to be ‘patriotic’ citizens of Syria. I am personally interested in documenting ‘Patriotic Education’ for the same reason that I like to study Syrian Baath Party literature: namely, from a historical angle, I am interested in documenting how the Assad regime portrayed itself ideologically, however farcical the messaging was.
The following text consists of an excerpt from a high school textbook for ‘Patriotic Education’ for academic year 2021-2022. The textbook belongs to my personal archive of books (cover below). The excerpt focuses on Syria’s history and the modern political system. Some points of interest:
