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Rural notables and the politics of partition in French Mandate Syria: a history of the Alawite State, 1920-1946

Esber, Fadi (2023) Rural notables and the politics of partition in French Mandate Syria: a history of the Alawite State, 1920-1946. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

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Identification Number: 10.21953/lse.00004781

Abstract

This thesis examines the politics of the Alawite State in French Mandate Syria from 1920-46. It argues that Alawite politics during the period in question were shaped by three key determinants, namely the shared sense of belonging to a single confessional community, the clan-based social system and economic conditions dominated by endemic poverty and feudalism. The main political actor in the rural Alawite community during the mandate period was the established clan notability. Alawite politics unfolded in the context of French colonial policy, which was predicated on partitioning Syria and empowering rural notables in the autonomous territories France had created—the Alawite State and Jabal al-Druze. The politics of partition instituted by France in Syria erected a political border between the Alawite majority areas of north-west Syria and the rest of the Sunni majority country. On the one hand, the French legitimised the socio-political role of the Alawite rural notability through ostensibly modern political institutions. On the other hand, French colonial officials constantly manipulated the politics of the Alawite clan notables to ensure favourable outcomes. The politics of partition were briefly interrupted by the 1936 Franco-Syrian Treaty but were back in place with the outbreak of the Second World War. In 1943, a nationalist government in Damascus took control of the Alawite Territory and set out to destroy the class of rural notables that rose to prominence under the French Mandate—which ended in 1946. In examining these dynamics, this thesis seeks to understand the manifestations of Alawite political reason during the period studied. It does so by tracing the ebbs and flows of the politics of Alawite clan notables. This thesis provides a historical narrative on a topic that has not been hitherto examined independently, thus bridging a gap in the historiography of Syria. It also presents an important case study of themes relevant beyond Syrian history, including colonial experiences in other Arab countries and French imperialism writ large.

Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
Additional Information: © 2023 Fadi Esber
Library of Congress subject classification: D History General and Old World > D History (General)
Sets: Departments > International History
Supervisor: Schulze, Kirsten E.
URI: http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/4781

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