Democratic Arab Socialist Union
Democratic Arab Socialist Union الاتحاد الاشتراكي العربي الديمقراطي | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Secretary-General | Hassan Abdul Azim[1] |
| Assistant Secretary General | Mohammad Abdul Majeed Manjuneh[1] |
| Founder | Jamal al-Atassi |
| Founded | 1980 |
| Split from | Arab Socialist Union Party of Syria |
| Headquarters | Paris, France |
| Ideology | Nasserism Democratic socialism |
| Political position | Centre-left to left-wing |
| National affiliation | National Democratic Rally National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change |
| Website | |
Official website  | |
The Democratic Arab Socialist Union (Arabic: الاتحاد الاشتراكي العربي الديمقراطي, Al-ittiḥād al-ishtirākī al-'arabī al-dīmūqrāṭī; French: Union arabe socialiste démocratique) (DASU) is a Nasserist democratic socialist Syrian political party based in Paris, France. It was founded in a split of the Arab Socialist Union Party of Syria, with Hassan 'Abd al-Azim as its general secretary.[2] The party is the largest of the opposition parties, but has a 'soft' approach in its opposition.[3]
Creation
After Hafez al-Assad took power in 1970, the ASU entered into negotiations about a coalition government, and agreed to join the National Progressive Front (NPF) in 1972. The year after, however, the party split over the adoption of a Syrian constitution in which the Ba'ath was proclaimed the "leading party" of the country. One minor faction under Fawzi Kiyali accepted the constitution, and retained both the ASU name and the NPF membership, while most members followed party leader Jamal al-Atassi into opposition, by renaming themselves the Democratic Arab Socialist Union (DASU). Hassan Abdelazim succeeded Jamal al-Atassi after his death in 2000.[3]
Hassan Ismail Abdelazim was arrested by the Syrian authorities in May 2011 as a crackdown on opposition forces in Syria,[4] but he was quickly released.[5][6]
Affiliations
The DASU is part of the National Democratic Rally coalition (Arabic: التجمع الوطني الديمقراطي, Al-tajammuʻ al-waṭanī al-dīmūqrāṭī). The party is one of the largest in the coalition, and has a historic rivalry with other most major party in the group, the Syrian Democratic People's Party. This rivalry would cripple the front.[5]
On June 30th, 2011, DASU, along with other parties, established the The National Coordination Bureau for the Forces of Democratic Change with several other opposition parties, most of which were in the NBC with it.[5]
The DASU party had some of the executives of the NBC including[5]:
- General Coordinator: Hassan Abdelazim
- Mays Kreidi
- Raja Al-Nasser
Post-Syrian Civil War
It is unknown what has happened to the Democratic Arab Socialist Union since the fall of Assad's regime.
References
- ^ a b "The Democratic Arab Socialist Union". Carnegie Middle East Center. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
- ^ AlJazeera.net: الأمين العام للإتحاد الإشتراكي الديمقراطي العربي حسن عبد العظيم)
- ^ a b Lund, Aron (15 June 2011). "Weakening regime, weaker opposition". Migrationsverket. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ AlGhad: السلطات السورية توقف المعارض حسن اسماعيل عبد العظيم (in Arabic)
- ^ a b c d Lund, Aron (May 2012). "Divided They Stand: An Overview of Syria's Political Factions" (PDF). OLOF Palme International Center. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Egg attack disrupts talks". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 6 August 2025.