From the Ottoman to the American Empire: Syrian Narratives of Global Power

Abstract

This article examines Syrian narratives of global power, ranging from the Ottoman era to the present day. Despite the country's relatively peripheral status in international politics, the stories of its people always feature Syria as a central figure in global policy and intrigue. When viewed not merely as speculation or conspiracy theories but as a form of speech act, these narratives can be seen as having an effect on relationships between different groups of people in relation to and among Syrians. This 'identity work' allows Syrians to order their own world through discussions of global power and gives them a sense of agency. Thus, 'talking about the powerful' actually serves to empower a local, 'marginalized' population, momentarily reversing the whole concept of peripheralization.

“Nothing Has Changed”: Social Continuity and the Gentrification of the Old City of Damascus

“…Some Shuwam further argued that the rural newcomers destroyed the history and heritage of their city through willful ignorance coupled with hostility to everything urban. According to these Shuwam, the nation-state was also irreparably damaged when Alawite villagers became rulers of Syria (Salamandra 2000(Salamandra , 2004Reedy 2010). …”

“…Although, throughout its long history, Damascus has been a destination for rural migrants, their arrival in the city since the 1960s has been associated with the rise of the the Ba'ath Party and associated transformations in Syrian political leadership (Hinnebusch 2001, Reedy 2010. The Ba'ath party had more support in the countryside than in urban centers, and its leadership came from villages outside traditional city centers of power.…”