State and Tribes in Syria: Informal Alliances and Conflict Patterns (Routledge/ St. Andrews Syrian Studies Series)

State and Tribes in Syria: Informal Alliances and Conflict Patterns explores the policies of the successive Syrian governments towards the Arab tribes and their reactions to these policies. The book examines the consequences of the relationship between state and tribe since the fall of the Ottoman Empire and its withdrawal from Syria in 1916 until the eruption of the current Syrian civil war. Throughout history and up to the present day, tribalism continues to influence many issues related to governance, conflict and stability in the Middle East and North Africa. The book provides a dissection of a crucial, but neglected axis of the current crisis on the relationship between the state and the tribes. The research draws on data gathered through interviews with members of Syrian tribes, as well as written literature in various languages including English, Arabic and French. The book combines the research focus of political scientists and anthropologists by relating the local patterns (communities and tribal affiliations) to the larger system (state institutions and policies) of which they are a part.State and Tribes in Syria: Informal Alliances and Conflict Patterns advances our knowledge of an under-studied component of the Syrian society: the tribes. Therefore it is a vital resource for students, scholars and policymakers interested in Syrian Studies and Middle Eastern Studies. Cover Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of Contents Acknowledgements 1 Syrian tribes: why is it important to know about them? Introduction The importance of the book and the questions that it seeks to answer Geography and population Geography Population Tribal mapping Methodology Limitations of the study Debates over the structure and function of tribes Framework for analysis Structure of the book Bibliography 2 Tribes and the state: from the rise of Islam to the French mandate over Syria Introduction Historical introduction Arab tribes, from Islamic conquest to the Mamluks (635–1517) Arab tribes and the politics of the state in the early Ottoman period (1516 until 1841) Arab tribes and the politics of the state in the late Ottoman period (1840 until 1917) Modernisation policies from Tanzimat to Sultan Abdulhamid II Subjugating the tribes Divide and rule Inducement policy Settlement policy Bureaucratic penetration First World War, the Arab Revolt and tribal loyalties Arab tribes and the French mandate policies (1919 until 1947) The pacification of the tribes The mandate management of the tribal regions Using the tribes as a counterweight to the nationalist movement Tribe–state dynamics throughout history Bibliography 3 Arab tribes and the rise of the nation-state in Syria from 1946 until 1970 Introduction Tribes and the independent state 1946–1958 Agricultural revolution and Bedouin settlement Abdel Nasser crushes the tribes 1958–1962 Tribes after the separation from Egypt The Ba’th Party and the seizing of power in 1963 Tribes and tribalism in Ba’thist ideology Land reform and sedentarisation projects Abolition of hima (traditional grazing system) Abolition of urf (traditional legal system) Tribal reaction to the Nasserists’ and Ba’thists’ measures Conclusion Note Bibliography 4 From enmity to amity: Hafez al-Assad and the Arab tribes in Syria from 1970 until 2000 Introduction The ‘Correctionist Movement’ and widening the base of alliances Hafez al-Assad’s tribalisation policies Tribes as a bridge to the Arab Gulf Tribes as a counterweight to the Islamists Tribes as a counterweight to the Kurds Tribes in the army, security apparatus and Ba’th Party The army Security apparatus The Ba’th Party Tribal representation in the Syrian Parliament Structural changes in tribal community by the end of the twentieth century Conclusion Notes Bibliography 5 Bashar al-Assad and the Arab tribes in Syria from 2000 until 2010 Introduction Bashar al-Assad and narrowing down the base of alliances Development and ‘modernisation’ policies in the tribal regions Supporting the Iraqi insurgency and the tribes’ role Tribal clashes: the regime is losing its grip The spread of Shi’ism and the rise of Salafism among the tribes The spread of Shi’ism among the tribes – myth and reality The rise of Salafism among the tribes Conclusion Notes Bibliography 6 Tribes and tribalism in the Syrian uprising and civil war Introduction Tribes and collective action in the Syrian uprising The underlying reasons for the uprising among the tribes Sheikhs as ‘guarantors’ ‘Gathering’ the tribes ‘Tribal Crescent’ versus ‘Shiite Crescent’ Tribal ties put pressure on Iraq Arab tribes and the Kurds Tribes in the civil war Tribes and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) Conclusion Note Bibliography Conclusion Bibliography Index State and Tribes in Syria: Informal Alliances and Conflict Patterns explores the policies of the successive Syrian governments towards the Arab tribes and their reactions to these policies. The book examines the consequences of the relationship between state and tribe since the fall of the Ottoman Empire and its withdrawal from Syria in 1916 until the eruption of the current Syrian civil war. Throughout history and up to the present day, tribalism continues to influence many issues related to governance, conflict and stability in the Middle East and North Africa. The book provides a dissection of a crucial, but neglected axis of the current crisis on the relationship between the state and the tribes. The research draws on data gathered through interviews with members of Syrian tribes, as well as written literature in various languages including English, Arabic and French. The book combines the research focus of political scientists, and anthropologists by relating the local patterns (communities and tribal affiliations) to the larger system (state institutions and policies) of which they are a part of. State and Tribes in Syria advance our knowledge of an under-studied component of the Syrian society: the tribes. Therefore it is a vital resource for students, scholars and policymakers interested in Syrian Studies and Middle Eastern Studies. The book explores the policies of the successive Syrian governments towards the Arab tribes and their reactions to these policies. The book examines the consequences of the relationship between state and tribe since the fall of the Ottoman Empire and its withdrawal from Syria in 1916 until the eruption of the current Syrian civil war.