Coup in Damascus

Coup in Damascus delves into one of the most pivotal yet under-explored moments in Middle Eastern history: the 1949 military coup in Syria, an event which set the stage for revolving door governments and autocracies across the region. At the interdisciplinary crossroad between economics, politics and history, Carl Rihan challenges prevailing narratives that have either focused on Great Power Politics, cloak-and-dagger regional rivalries, or postcolonial dynamics by affirming the central role of cost-calculating, utility-driven political action in a constrained economic context. Bringing neoclassical and Austrian economic thought in contact with Middle East history, Coup in Damascus uncovers how unsound monetary practices, the disruption of historical trade routes, flawed interventionism, and the waning of market dynamics paved the way for military takeovers, political radicalization, and zero-sum games. By reaffirming the centrality of human action in its objective and praxeological sense, Coup in Damascus offers a fresh perspective on one of the region's most pivotal moments, one which still bares its bitter fruits today.