National Progressive Front (Syria)

National Progressive Front

الجبهة الوطنية التقدمية‎
National Progressive Front الجبهة الوطنية التقدمية‎
President	Bashar al-Assad
Vice-President	Mohammad al-Shaar
Founder	Hafez al-Assad
Founded	1972
Banned	29 January 2025
Headquarters	Damascus
Ideology	Neo-Ba'athism; Arab nationalism; Arab socialism; Pan-Arabism; Secularism; Socialism; Anti-Zionism; Factions: Nasserism; Communism; Syrian nationalism; Left-wing nationalism; Trade unionism;
Political position	Left-wing; Factions:; Centre-left to far-left
Website
	pnf.org.sy
	Politics of Syria; Political parties; Elections;

The National Progressive Front (Arabic: الجبهة الوطنية التقدمية, al-Jabha al-Waṭaniyyah al-Taqaddumiyyah, NPF) was a Ba'athist Syrian state controlled coalition of left-wing parties that supported the Arab nationalist and Arab socialist orientation of the now defunct Assad regime and accepted the "leading role" of the ruling Syrian Ba'ath party. The coalition was modelled after the popular front system used in the Communist Bloc, through which the Syrian Ba'ath party governed the country while permitting nominal participation of smaller, satellite parties. The NPF was part of the Ba'ath party's efforts to expand its support base and neutralize prospects for any sustainable liberal or left-wing opposition, by instigating splits within independent leftist parties or repressing them.^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8] The coalition was officially outlawed by the Syrian transitional government on 29 January 2025 after the collapse of the Ba'athist regime.

The NPF model was created by the Ba'athist system to enforce a highly centralized presidential system.^[9] The satellite parties within the NPF had smaller political power and largely functioned as networks for mobilizing loyalty to the government. Student activism and political activities in armed forces were strictly prohibited for non-Ba'athist parties in the NPF, amongst other restrictions.^[10]^[11]

^ "الجبهة الوطنية التقدمية". pnf.org.sy. Mohannad Orfali-. Archived from the original on 2021-07-12. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
^ Baresh, Manhal (20 June 2024). Kheder Khaddour (ed.). "Politics in Syria: Mapping Active Political Parties and Movements" (PDF). Political landscape in Syria. Berlin, Germany: IMPACT Research: 30. For instance, the National Progressive Front is known for its socialist and leftist ideology, while entities like the Syrian National Council and the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces unite various Syrian opposition parties under a shared goal of opposing the Assad regime, regardless of their individual ideological beliefs.
^ Tom Lansford; Jorge Brown; John M. Callahan; David Harms Holt; Robert J. Pauly Jr.; Alexander D. Stephenson (2021). "Syria". Political Handbook of the World 2020-2021. Vol. 1. SAGE Publications. p. 1618. ISBN 978-1-5443-8471-9. ISSN 0193-175X.
^ "Is Syria socialist? 2022 Guide". Young Pioneer Tours. 2022. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022.
^ Al Hajj-Saleh, Yassîn (1 October 2018). "L'opposition syrienne". Confluences Méditerranée: 71–81. doi:10.3917/come.044.0071. Archived from the original on 28 April 2023.
^ Seale, Patrick (1989). "19: The Enemy Within". Asad of Syria: The Struggle for the Middle East. Los Angeles, USA: University of California Press. pp. 175–176. ISBN 0-520-06667-7.
^ Taha, Zakaria (2012). The Kurdish opposition and the Baath regime in Syria: between identity dynamics and cooptation strategies. HAL SHS. Archived from the original on 28 April 2023.
^ Batatu, Hanna (1999). Syria's Peasantry, the Descendants of Its Lesser Rural Notables, and Their Politics. Chichester, West Sussex, UK: Princeton University Press. pp. 121, 274, 275. ISBN 0-691-00254-1.
^ Leverett, Flynt (2005). "Chapter Two: Hafiz's Legacy, Bashar's Inheritance". Inheriting Syria: Bashar's Trial by Fire. 1775 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036: Brookings Institution Press. p. 26. ISBN 978-0-8157-5204-2.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
^ Batatu, Hanna (1999). "13: The Post-1970 Asad-molded, Career-oriented Ba'ath". Syria's Peasantry, the Descendants of Its Lesser Rural Notables, and Their Politics. Chichester, West Sussex, UK: Princeton University Press. p. 187. ISBN 0-691-00254-1.
^ Seale, Patrick (1989). Asad of Syria: The Struggle for the Middle East. Los Angeles, USA: University of California Press. p. 176. ISBN 0-520-06667-7.

[1] "الجبهة الوطنية التقدمية". pnf.org.sy. Mohannad Orfali-. Archived from the original on 2021-07-12. Retrieved 2019-08-23.

[2] Baresh, Manhal (20 June 2024). Kheder Khaddour (ed.). "Politics in Syria: Mapping Active Political Parties and Movements" (PDF). Political landscape in Syria. Berlin, Germany: IMPACT Research: 30. For instance, the National Progressive Front is known for its socialist and leftist ideology, while entities like the Syrian National Council and the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces unite various Syrian opposition parties under a shared goal of opposing the Assad regime, regardless of their individual ideological beliefs.

[3] Tom Lansford; Jorge Brown; John M. Callahan; David Harms Holt; Robert J. Pauly Jr.; Alexander D. Stephenson (2021). "Syria". Political Handbook of the World 2020-2021. Vol. 1. SAGE Publications. p. 1618. ISBN 978-1-5443-8471-9. ISSN 0193-175X.

[4] "Is Syria socialist? 2022 Guide". Young Pioneer Tours. 2022. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022.

[5] Al Hajj-Saleh, Yassîn (1 October 2018). "L'opposition syrienne". Confluences Méditerranée: 71–81. doi:10.3917/come.044.0071. Archived from the original on 28 April 2023.

[6] Seale, Patrick (1989). "19: The Enemy Within". Asad of Syria: The Struggle for the Middle East. Los Angeles, USA: University of California Press. pp. 175–176. ISBN 0-520-06667-7.

[7] Taha, Zakaria (2012). The Kurdish opposition and the Baath regime in Syria: between identity dynamics and cooptation strategies. HAL SHS. Archived from the original on 28 April 2023.

[8] Batatu, Hanna (1999). Syria's Peasantry, the Descendants of Its Lesser Rural Notables, and Their Politics. Chichester, West Sussex, UK: Princeton University Press. pp. 121, 274, 275. ISBN 0-691-00254-1.

[9] Leverett, Flynt (2005). "Chapter Two: Hafiz's Legacy, Bashar's Inheritance". Inheriting Syria: Bashar's Trial by Fire. 1775 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036: Brookings Institution Press. p. 26. ISBN 978-0-8157-5204-2.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)

[10] Batatu, Hanna (1999). "13: The Post-1970 Asad-molded, Career-oriented Ba'ath". Syria's Peasantry, the Descendants of Its Lesser Rural Notables, and Their Politics. Chichester, West Sussex, UK: Princeton University Press. p. 187. ISBN 0-691-00254-1.

[11] Seale, Patrick (1989). Asad of Syria: The Struggle for the Middle East. Los Angeles, USA: University of California Press. p. 176. ISBN 0-520-06667-7.

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