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The spectre of rural-urban relations: Syria’s 2011 uprising

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posted on 2023-06-10, 05:24 authored by Wassim Naboulsi
This thesis examines how rural-urban relations have affected, and been affected by, the 2011 uprising in Syria. The literature on rural-urban relations in Syria lacks a systematic conceptualisation of rural and urban identities. This has resulted in obscuring their complexities generating static and generally economistic accounts of how these identities have affected the political choices of the different actors. I critically deploy a Social Identity Theory perspective underpinned by Historical Materialism to underscore the processual and dynamic aspects of rurality and urbanity. I reinterpret the existing data and literature on rural-urban relations in Syria since the early 20th century and use Critical Discourse Analysis to examine some representative works of drama, journalism and literature in each period to illustrate how rural and urban identities have been developing and becoming more complex (both materially and ideationally) throughout the decades since the early twentieth century. I argue that the accounts depicting the 2011 crisis in terms of a rural revolt against the urban economic privileges and the 2000s liberalisation fail to incorporate the historical complexity of these identities. By contrast, I contend that the crisis comprised a conflict between different groups across the rural-urban continuum over the ruling elites’ endeavours to impose new definitions of rurality and urbanity that served their aspirations to become the country’s new bourgeoisie, and over the political, socio-economic, and ideational consequences of these (re)definitions. I then illustrate how the regime and its allies have been exploiting the war to manipulate rural-urban dynamics to further their interests. The thesis therefore offers a historically sensitive, theoretically systematic, methodologically rigorous and analytically nuanced understanding of the Syrian conflict that emphasises the processual and ideational aspects of rurality and urbanity. It also bridges the gap between the literatures on Social Identity Theory and Rural-Urban Relations in both peace and war settings. It, therefore, contributes to related research in other parts of the world.

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File Version

  • Published version

Pages

252.0

Department affiliated with

  • International Relations Theses

Qualification level

  • doctoral

Qualification name

  • phd

Language

  • eng

Institution

University of Sussex

Full text available

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2022-12-15

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