Speaking with the “Voice of Syria”: Producing the Arab World’s First Personality Cult

The most significant macro-historical trend of the late 20th century Arab world was the consolidation of undemocratic governance. One of the most visible manifestations of this phenomenon was the establishment of personality cults surrounding authoritarian rulers. This article analyzes the first such cult in the Arab world, that of Colonel Adib al-Shishakli, who was effectively dictator of Syria from 1949 to 1954. This article undermines the presumptions that Hafiz al-Asad’s cult of personality was unprecedented in Syrian history and modeled solely on previous cults in Communist dictatorships.