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questioning and often perplexed, has none of the certainties of a man
born to power. He was a young doctor studying ophthalmology in
London when the accidental death in 1994 of his elder brother, Basil,
an altogether tougher character who was being groomed for the
succession, propelled him somewhat reluctantly onto the political
scene.
The country he came to rule in 2000 seemed backward in an
increasingly globalised and technologically advanced world. His first
reforms were therefore financial and commercial. Mobile phones and
the internet were introduced. Private schools and universities
proliferated. In 2004 private banks and insurance companies were
allowed to operate for the first time, and a stock exchange was
opened in March 2009. A political and economic alliance was forged
with Turkey (and visas abolished), which allowed trade to grow along
that border, benefiting Aleppo. The Old City of Damascus was
revitalised, ancient courtyard houses restored and hotels and
restaurants opened to cater for the growing number of tourists. Before
the crisis erupted, Syria was negotiating to join the World Trade
Organisation and conclude an association agreement with the
European Union.
But Bashar’s years in power seem to have hardened him. He
developed a taste for control -- control over the media, over the
university, over the economy (through cronies such as his
exorbitantly rich cousin Rami Makhlouf), control over society at
large. Free expression is not allowed. Political decision-making is
restricted to a tight circle around the president and security services.
Like his father, Bashar clearly does not like to be pushed around or to
seem to yield to pressure. Even so, many Syrians still support him in
the belief that, as an educated, modern and secular ruler, he is better
placed than most to bring about necessary change.

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