Coup Atlas Research Database
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65212291952ConspiracyMilitary coup

Syria, 1952 — military coup conspiracy

Syria (SYR)Western Asia, AsiaDecember 29, 1952

Event Summary

The dataset records an event coded as a military coup conspiracy in Syria on 29 December 1952, during the consolidation of Colonel Adib Shishakli's military dictatorship. After seizing full power in his November 1951 coup, Shishakli abolished all political parties in April 1952, launched his Arab Liberation Movement as the sole official party in August 1952, ruled largely by decree, and tightened control over the civil service, judiciary, and military. He faced persistent opposition from the banned National, People's, Communist, and Baath parties and the Muslim Brotherhood, as well as from disaffected army officers, many of whom he arrested.

The coded December 1952 conspiracy fits this pattern of officer and opposition plotting against Shishakli's one-man rule during his 1952 consolidation. Such plotting culminated in the military revolt that overthrew Shishakli in February 1954.

Researched Details

Researched

Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.

Target identified in Coup Atlas research: Shishakli suppressed opposition plotting during his 1952 consolidation but was overthrown in February 1954
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
Adib Shishakli (military ruler of Syria, target)
Banned political parties and disaffected officers (opposition)
Arab Liberation Movement (Shishakli's official party)

Sources

After his November 1951 coup, Shishakli abolished all political parties in April 1952, replacing them with his Arab Liberation Movement launched in August 1952, and governed by decree.
SOURCE REVIEWED Grokipedia, Adib Shishakli open source ↗
Among those persecuted under his rule were the National Party, the People's Party, the Communist Party, the Baath Party, and the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood, and he arrested many active officers.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia, Adib al-Shishakli open source ↗
He deployed spies and security agents across the nation to observe and suppress any signs of opposition against his rule.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia, Adib Shishakli open source ↗
Growing discontent led to the military coup of February 1954 that overthrew Shishakli, with plotters including Communists, Druze officers, and Baath Party members.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia, 1954 Syrian coup d'etat open source ↗

Editorial Note

No discrete plot precisely on 29 December 1952 was found in accessible English sources this session; the entry records the dataset's coding and the verified context of officer and opposition plotting against Shishakli's 1952 consolidation, flagged as context. The well-documented anti-Shishakli movement culminated in the separate February 1954 coup. First Syria record in the dataset run.

Cross-Reference

Only one dataset carries it. One of the three reference datasets we check against carries this event; the others do not list it. That is not a contradiction — the datasets cover different periods and use different thresholds — but it means the record has had less outside corroboration.

Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:

Cline Center id
65212291952

How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.

Outcome and Target

Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Shishakli suppressed opposition plotting during his 1952 consolidation but was overthrown in February 1954.

Baseline coding: Plot discovered and disrupted before execution. Recorded leader fate: remained in office; not physically harmed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.

Baseline Dataset Citation

Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset, v2.2.2
Peyton, Buddy, Joseph Bajjalieh, Michael Martin, and Andrea Gerald. 2026. Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset. Cline Center for Advanced Social Research. V.2.2.2. February 17. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. doi: 10.13012/B2IDB-9651987_V10
⚑ This citation establishes the coded baseline record; use the claim-level sources above for the researched narrative.

Baseline Source-Document Entries

CSP

Named in the baseline source document; no article citation was recorded.

Irish Times

“Syrians accused of plotting,” December 29, 1952

New York Herald Tribune

“18 Syria Officers Ousted,” December 30, 1952

This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →

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