Adonis, the Syrian Crisis, and the Question of Pluralism in the Levant (original) (raw)
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The Levant Reconciling a Century of Contradictions
American Journal of Islam and Society
Although the revolution in Syria is unfolding within the modern politicalboundaries of this country, its proper understanding is not attainablewithout putting it in a larger historical context, which includes the adjacentgeographical areas of the Levant, Bilad al-Sham. Without such a broaderview, the appreciation of the complexity of the Syrian case is not possible,nor accounting for its consequences and anticipating its future.Probably, in no case, is the mess of colonial legacy more visible than itis in Syria. The pathway of this legacy marks the future development of thecountry, and its implications are facing the revolution today with arduouschallenges. The complexity of the Syria case is not limited to the politicaldimension; it is also complex at the meta-cultural level. Furthermore, thechange in Syria has consequences for the region as whole ‒ it will institutionalizethe Arab Spring as an unavoidable political force, and it will energizethe process of cultural reformation and...
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2022
Arab nationalism failed due to the numerous divisions inhibiting the Fertile Crescent. Be it ethnic, political, social, or religious factors, states promoted unity but in practice there were too many internal divisions to achieve a real unity. 1 An articulated resume of the factors is included in Reflections on Arab Nationalism, by Efraim Karsh & Inari Karsh: 'Some have attributed this failure to the incompatibility of the Western concepts of statehood and nationalism with the Middle Eastern reality; others, to the machinations of Western imperialism which (allegedly) carved the Middle East in the wake of the First World War into artificial entities in accordance with its self-serving interests and in complete disregard of the wishes and needs of the 'Arab nation'; still others, to the selfish narrowmindedness of the individual Arab regimes; to the lack of social, economic, political, and at times religious self-awareness among the Arab elites and masses alike; or to the transformation of the Middle Eastern international system over the past few decades in general, and the vicissitudes of the Arab-Israeli conflict in particular'. 2 While this overview may conjure several areas of debate, tackling the question-a window of opportunity-in essence refers to this possibility for change posed by the toppling of traditional monarchies and the substitution with a fervent pan-Arabism. As a starting point this essay will seek to analyse the meaning, protagonists, and manifestations of Arab unity. There is scant consensus over the term. Darwish defines pan-Arabism as a 'political unity between the Arab countries in the Middle East'. 3 Therefore, does this render the ideology a dud for the
Cosmopolitanism in Retreat? The Crisis of Syrian Identity in Post-Arab Spring
This research project examines the following central question: what does Syrian identity mean in the eyes of contending groups in the current Syrian crisis (2011-2017)? In answering this question, the project engages in original research, shedding light on the ‘identity’ dimension of the war in Syria. It challenges primordialist and/or Orientalist approaches to identity, which shadow the cosmopolitan components of the Middle East, confining the region’s identity-politics to notions of sectarianism and conservative militant Islamism resistant to modernity. Through employing Hamid Dabashi’s critical postcolonial cosmopolitan framework of analysis, the research historicizes the crisis of Syrian identity, focusing on critical periods ranging from the 1920s, up to the contemporary crisis (2011-2017). It demonstrates that the country’s postcolonial state-imposed national identity projects have for years been exclusionary, and either have been shaped by, or have encountered, three ideological formations: those are, anti-colonial nationalism, third-world socialism, and Islamism. These formations emerged in conversation with, and in response to, European colonialism and were conveniently deployed by the ruling regimes to legitimatize their position. Through a discourse and content analysis, based on Dabashi’s analytical framework, the research argues that the 2011 Syrian Uprising was an attempt to bring an inclusive meaning to ‘Syrianism’ and to retrieve the repressed cosmopolitan worldliness. Protestors were committed to a unified Syria, as a political entity and a source of identity. They were not seeking an Islamist, a pan-‘Arabist’, a separatist, a Ba’athist socialist or a sectarian vision, but were rather united by prospects of creating a locally produced alternative that would maintain national harmony and retrieve the country’s cosmopolitanism. The research argues that the prolonging of the Syrian conflict has resulted in the deterioration of an inclusive, cosmopolitan ‘Syrianism’, as various actors have risen with conflicting ideas about national identity. Using archival primary and secondary sources, the research problematizes the identity discourse of the conflicting groups and to compare where they place ‘Syria’ in their ideologies. The research findings suggest that the ideologies of the studied combatant groups embody counter-revolutionary exclusionary notions of identity, which are not based on the cosmopolitan worldliness, but rather reinforce the suppressed, reactionary and exclusionary post-colonial ideological dichotomies.
Uluslararasi Iliskiler, 2018
The Levant region consists of Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Palestine, Cyprus, and parts of Egypt and Turkey. It has historically played an important role as a region, where the East and the West and converge, be it through conflict or dialogue. In modern times though, the individual states that make up the Levant have not been system-determining states in world politics. The Levant as a region has maintained its relevance in international politics due to geo-strategic positioning, proximity to Islamic, Christian and Jewish religious sites, and more recently its hydrocarbon resources. Powerful regional actors and their diverse military, political and economic interests, in addition to multitude of ethnicities, faiths, and beliefs as well as continuing interests and interventions of non-regional states, have created numerous fault lines and drivers of conflicts in the region. Within this general framework, this collection of articles aims at identifying the various aspects and actors that can influence the formation of a sustainable regional order for the Levant. This includes the dynamics that had created and sustained stability in the region before the 2011 uprising, the foundations for a new regional order, as well as the role regional and international actors could play in the creation of a sustainable regional order for the Levant. The special issue will examine these topics with a view to provide a conceptual framework for further discussion. It is thus designed in three parts: a focus on the challenges for and foundations of a regional order, an assessment for the possibility of a regional economic framework, and an analysis on the impacts of the region’s emerging balances.
The Arabism Debate and the Arab Uprisings
This article explores how the Arab Uprisings have affected academic debates over the importance of Arab identity in regional and domestic politics. Does the spreading of protest from one Arab state to another in 2011 indicate Arabism’s continued salience, or does the subsequent rise of regional sectarianism represent its death-knell? Are older debates between ‘New Arabists’ and ‘post-Arabists’ still relevant or is a new framework needed that better reflects the post-2011 Arab world?
Levant’da Demokratik Değişim: Bölgesel Bir Düzenin Onarılmasına Yönelik Beklentiler
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The 2011 Arab uprisings exacerbated conflict and turmoil in the Levant, with the civil war in Syria constituting the dominant event in the region since that point in time and drawing the surrounding countries into its destructive vortex. The changes wrought by the uprisings have intermingled with the pre-existing conflicts in the Levant and with new local and pan-Middle Eastern confrontations in pernicious ways. Among the outcomes of this crisis are that Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Palestine-whose current political situations will be addressed in this paperare experiencing a rise in authoritarianism. However, this paper argues that the Levant will not overcome its current disorder and regain a degree of order-in the sense either of stability or of recognized rules governing relations between regional actors-unless Levantine states undergo a degree of democratization, meaning they adopt some degree of accountability, pluralism and respect for basic freedoms and good governance. Democracy is closely linked to the emergence of peace and security but is also a condition for them to endure.
Reflectionson Arab Nationalism
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The Struggle For The Levant: Geopolitical Battles and the Quest for Stability
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This report addresses core aspects of US and Iranian competition by looking at six key arenas: Syria, Israel, the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon. With the exception of Iraq – which is covered separately – these countries and territories make up the region referred to as the Levant. In every arena, the US and Iran must choose the best ways to advance their interests in each area, as well as consider the enduring and emerging regional challenges and wild cards that may to shape and influence US-Iranian interests and competition in the Levant in years to come.
Al Qasemi Journal of Islamic Studies, 2022
In correspondence with the Ottoman millet system, the religious aspect of an individual's identity is regarded as the primary locus of identity in the premodern Levant. The proposed paper will sketch the first steps in formulating a Syrian identity and aim to show that a central aspect of these advances was an effort to sideline the Islamic identity of the Sunni majority. In order to do so, the paper will point to the origins of the Syrian idea, understood as arising from the thinking of Christian missionaries, and detail its development over the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century.