Philip S. Khoury

Tribes and state formation in the Middle East

Tribes and State Formation is the first effort to bring together the disciplines of history, anthropology, and political science around a major topic that none of these alone is adequately equipped to address. How and why did certain tribal societies metamorphose over time into states? Scholars concerned with general questions of theory and methodology and the interaction of anthropology and history, as well as political scientists and sociologists concerned with concepts of the state in the Middle East and other developing regions, will be well served by this innovative work. The articles by an array of distinguished scholars cover a wide range of topics: the relationship of ideology to tribal and state power, comparisons between different regional patterns of tribe-state interaction, historical case studies from North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and Iran extending to the contemporary period; theoretical and methodological inquiries, and systematic reviews of the literature on tribes and states. The articles argue against a unilinear approach to the study of tribes and state formation by emphasizing that states often existed alongside tribes and even created tribes for their own purposes. Some case studies emphasize the incompatibility of states and tribalism, while others illustrate the many areas in which tribes actually enhanced rather than impeded state formation.

Syrian Urban Politics in Transition: The Quarters of Damascus During The French Mandate

For urban politics in Syria, the interwar years were pivotal. The country was in a transitional phase, uncomfortably suspended between four centuries of Ottoman rule and national independence. Although the Empire had collapsed and new forms of social and political organization were available, there remained a distinctive Ottoman cast to Syrias urban elites. Meanwhile, France had occupied the country, but was ruling clumsily and with a growing measure of uncertainty. The Mandate system itself dictated that the French could not remain in Syria indefinitely and Arab nationalism, however inconsistent and inarticulate, had become the reigning political idea of the age. The cry of independence rang across much of Syria, and nowhere more loudly and clearly than in her cities, the traditional centers of political life.

Continuity and Change in Syrian Political Life: The Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries

HISTORIANS HAVE DEMONSTRATED a penchant for tracking the forces of change stemming from the political and socioeconomic upheavals that have punctuated the history of the Middle East in the past two hundred years. The effects of the Ottoman reformation (or Tanzimat), the European industrial revolution, World War I, and the collapse of four centuries of Ottoman rule followed by the imposition of European control over much of the Arab Middle East have steered historians in this direction. As a consequence, they have shown considerably less interest in looking for elements of continuity and stability among the many transformations experienced by the region. This benign neglect holds true for historians of the Middle East regardless of the methodologies and frameworks of analysis they apply to their subjects. Indeed, the social and economic historian is no different from todays less-fashionable political historian and the liberal historian no different from the conservative. The study of urban political culture in Syria in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries is a case in point. I will argue that political culture in Syria did not change abruptly with the break-up of the Ottoman empire and the imposition of European rule at the end of World War I. Rather, the exercise of political power followed what can be called the Ottoman model for nearly four decades after the demise of the empire. In order to support this contention, three periods of modern Syrian history need to be examined. In the first period, from the mid-nineteenth century until the early twentieth, a political culture in the towns of Syria arose that was intimately tied to the emergence of a single political elite. During this time, the urban elites developed a distinct social character and political role. The second period begins with the collapse of the Ottoman empire and the introduction of French rule and ends with World War II and Frances abandonment of Syria. A remarkable degree of continuity in Syrian urban political culture and in the character of the Syrian elites political role distinguished this era, despite the major upheavals that foreshadowed and characterized the interwar years. The third period corresponds to the early years of Syrian independence. Only then did Syrian political culture begin to assume radically new forms and dimensions, but even this process took nearly two decades to unfold.

Divided Loyalties? Syria and the question of Palestine, 1919–39

No event of the 1930s captured the attention of the Arab world as did the Arab Revolt in Palestine. Its progress was eagerly followed in the daily press of Cairo, Baghdad, Damascus, and in the capitals of North Africa. It was also carefully monitored by Arab leaders and regimes. On one hand, the revolt aroused Arab nationalist sentiments in ways not witnessed in the region since the days of Faysals Arab Kingdom; on the other, it alarmed Arab rulers who feared its repercussions on domestic political life in their respective countries. The impact of the revolt on the Arab world differed from country to country. It coincided with and helped to erode Egypts longstanding political insulation from the Arab nationalist movement (despite Cairos own central role in the birth of the nationalist idea and as a political asylum for nationalist activists from Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine) and contributed to its new Arab orientation.2 It helped independent Iraq to establish itself as a vital centre of Arab nationalist activity, enhancing Baghdads political reputation among the Arabs. In Transjordan, the ambitious Amir Abdullah, while not at all pleased by the use of his territory as a conduit for arms and fighters, sought to benefit from the revolt by expanding his influence in Palestinian politics.3 In Syria, the impact of the revolt and the reaction of the political leadership was especially mixed. Syrias involvement in the affairs of Palestine is not only of importance for our understanding of the conduct of the revolt, but it also casts new light on the tensions between the established Syrian framework of political factionalism and new forces trying to break out of that framework; on the tensions between Syrian provincialism and pan-Arabism; and on the different means the imperial powers had at their disposal to bend local elites their way. The major dilemma facing the leadership of the Syrian national independence movement the National Bloc (al-Kutla al-Wataniyya) in 1936 was that as its prospects for getting control of government grew brighter, it encountered a number of obstacles which had the potential to ruin these prospects. A resurgence of pan-Arab sentiment focused on developments in Palestine was one such obstacle. The Bloc leadership could neither avoid involvement in the Palestine question nor allow Palestine to divert it from its quest for

A REPLY TO MORDECHAI NISAN

I would have failed in my responsibility as a reviewer had I ignored the fault lines in the pedestal that Mordechai Nisan constructed for his hero, Etienne Sakr. Readers may indeed judge for themselves. Whether they wish to buy the book is another matter.

Urban Notables and Arab Nationalism: The Politics of Damascus, 1860-1920

List of maps Note on transcription Preface Introduction 1. The political configuration of Damascus in 1860 2. The consolidation of leadership in Damascus after 1860 3. Damascus notables and the rise of Arab nationalism before World War I 4. Notables, nationalists and faysals Arab government in Damascus, 1918-1920 Conclusion Notes Bibliography Glossary of Arabic, Persian and Turkish terms Index.