“In its bid to attract foreign investment, the government has embraced a neoliberal model of economic liberalisation, sharp austerity and a shrinking public sector. These measures have been accompanied by policies and decisions that reinforce the concentration of economic power among the new ruling elite, while the vast majority of Syrians continue to live in poverty . “So far, the majority of these investments have been in tourism, real estate and financial services, reflecting a focus on short-term profits at the expense of productive sectors such as manufacturing and agriculture.”
“The West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion (to which few members of other civilizations were converted) but rather by its superiority in applying organized violence. Westerners often forget this fact; non-Westerners never do.” —Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilisation and the Remaking of the World Order, 1996, p. 51