Weekly Readings NOTE: the readings will be modified to reflect the class's composition Reading Assignments for the coming week will appear below in RED
C 1: Introduction: Course Overview Introduction to the Syrian Uprising in context: three concepts/developments 1. Revolutions vs. uprisings vs. protests a. What constitutes fundamental change? b. How/when do depths of crises propel mass mobilization? c. Why we should not flatten all sorts of "change" into one word? 2. The Context of the Syrian Uprising/Conflict During Both Waves of Regional Mass Protests 3. How might we (or can we) characterize the totality of the Syrian Conflict? a. Why did Syrians go to the streets in 2011? b. What became of the Syrian uprisings after the first year or so? c. What is the current situation in Syria?
C 2: Social and Political Transformation in the Early 20th Century 1. Philip Khoury, Syria and the French Mandate: the Politics of Arab Nationalism 1920-45 (Princeton University Press, 1987), Introduction and Conclusion. [PDF1] [PDF2] 2. James L. Gelvin, 'The Other Arab Nationalism: Syrian/Arab Populism in its Historical and International Contexts' in James P. Jankowski and I. Gershoni, eds. Rethinking Nationalism in the Arab East (Columbia University Press, 1997). [PDF] 3. [Required Only For Graduate Students]. Daniel Neep, Occupying Syria under the French Mandate: Insurgency, Space and State Formation (Cambridge University Press, 2012), Ch.2 'The Architecture of the Colonial State.' [PDF]
Recommended 6. [Grad] Philip Khoury, “The Tribal Shaykh, French Tribal Policy, and the Nationalist Movement in Syria Between Two World Wars.” Middle Eastern Studies 18, no. 2 (April 1, 1982): 180–193. [PDF] 3. [Grad] Benjamin White, "The Nation-State Form and the Emergence of ‘Minorities' in Syria" in Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism 7,1 (2007), pp.64-85. [PDF] 4. Philip Khoury, “The Syrian Independence Movement and the Growth of Economic Nationalism in Damascus.” Bulletin (British Society for Middle Eastern Studies) 14, no. 1 (January 1, 1987): 25–36. [PDF] 7. Philip Khoury, “Continuity and Change in Syrian Political Life: The Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries.” The American Historical Review 96, no. 5 (December 1, 1991): 1374–1395. [PDF] 8. Philip Khoury, “Syrian Urban Politics in Transition: The Quarters of Damascus During the French Mandate.” International Journal of Middle East Studies 16, no. 4 (November 1, 1984): 507–540. [PDF]
C 3: Introduction to Syria’s Politics: A Timeline
1. Bassam Haddad, Preamble and Preface, and Chapter 2, “The Legacy of State-Business Antagonism,” in Business Networks: The Political Economy of Authoritarian Resilience [Text] [PDF of Preamble and Preface] 2. Raymond Hinnebusch, Revolution from Above, Chapter 1, “Conceptualizing the Syrian Ba`th State” [PDF] 3. [Required only for Graduate Students] Steve Heydemann, Authoritarianism in Syria: Institutions and Social Conflict, Chapter 1, “Successful Authoritarianism? Syria in Comparative Perspective.” [PDF]
Recommended 4. Volker Perthes, "The Emergence and Transformation of a Statist Economy" [TBA] 5. Eric Rouleau, "The Syrian Enigma: What is the Baath?" [PDF] 6. [Recommended] Interview with Haytham Manna` on the Syrian Uprising, Jadaliyya [LINK]
C 4: Syria Under Hafez Asad: Institutionalization and Cult of Personality 1. Raymond Hinnebusch, Chapter 4, “Power and Politics Under Asad” [PDF] 2. Patrick Seale, Assad: The Struggle for the Middle East, Part II, Chapter 12, pp. 169-184 [PDF] 3. Raymond Hinnebusch, Chapter 5, “State-Society Relations Under Asad” [PDF]
Recommendations on Authoritarian rule 1. Lisa Wedeen, Ambiguities of Domination, (first half of the book) [Text] 2. Jill Crystal, “Authoritarianism and its Adversaries in the Arab World,” World Politics, 46 (January 1994), pp. 262-289. [PDF] 3. Eva Bellin, “Contingent Democrats: Industrialists, Labor, and Democratization in Late-Developing Countries,” Comparative Politics, Vol. 52, No. 2 (Jan., 2000), pp. 175-185. [PDF] 4. Patrick Seale, Assad: The Struggle for the Middle East, Part II, Chapters 13 to 19 [PDF] 5. Hanna Batatu, Syria's Peasantry, the Descendants of Its Lesser Rural Notables, and Their Politics (Princeton University Press, 1999), Chapters 11-18 [PDF] 6. Lisa Wedeen, Ambiguities of Domination, (second half of the book)
C 5: State-Led Growth, Economic Reform, the Private Sector, and Syria's Upper Classes 1. Bassam Haddad, Introduction and Chapter 3 in Business Networks in Syria: The Political Economy of Authoritarian Resilience [Text] 2. Bassam Haddad, Chapter 4 in Business Networks in Syria: The Political Economy of Authoritarian Resilience [Text] 3. Raymond Hinnebusch, Chapter 6, “The Political Economy of Development” [PDF] 4. [Required Only for Graduate Students] Bassam Haddad, “Syria’s State Bourgeoisie: An Organic Backbone for the Regime,” Middle EastCritique, Vol. 21, Issue 3 (Fall 2012). [PDF]
Graduate Students Assignment 1. Bassam Haddad, Introduction, Chapters 1, 5, and 6 in Business Networks in Syria: The Political Economy of Authoritarian Resilience [Text] 2. Linda Matar, Chapter 5, "Investment Liberalization During the Hafiz Assad Regime: Moving to a 'Freer' Market" [PDF]
Recommended: Syria’s Upper Class(es) 1. Volker Perthes, "The Bourgeoisie and the Baath: A Look at Syria's Upper Class," MERIP, No. 170, 1991 [Link] 2. Linda Matar, Chapter 4, "Class and State Capitalism in Syria" [PDF]
C6: Social Market Economy, and the Bashar Years (1) 1. Bassam Haddad, “Asad and After,” Notes to The Economist, 2000-2001 [PDF]; “Business As Usual in Syria,” MERIP, 2001 [PDF]; “Waiting for the Wrong Time,” Carnegie ARB, 2004 [PDF]; and “Syria’s Curious Dilemma,” MERIP, 2005 [PDF] 2. Bassam Haddad, “The Political Economy of Syria: Realities and Challenges,” Middle East Policy, Vol XVIII, No. 2, Summer 2011, pp. 46-61. [PDF] 3. Raymond Hinnebusch and Tina Zintl, From Reform to Revolt, Vol. 1., Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4 [PDF] 4. [Required Only for Graduate Students] Linda Matar, Chapter 6, "Economic Liberalization was an Irreversible Trend During the Bashar Regime: The Socioeconomic Fuel of the Syrian Crisis." [PDF]
Recommended: Volker Perthes, Chapter 3, "Social Structure and Class Relations"
C 7/8: Understanding the Syrian Uprising [Part 1]
S E C T I O N T I T L E S
Introduction: Understanding the Complexity The Structure and Skeletons Underneath Regime, Society, Opposition The Outsiders Radicalization of the Uprising The Web of Contradictions
U P R I S I N G R E Q U I R E D R E A D I N G S B E L O W
C 10: Understanding the Syrian Uprising: External Intervention [Part 3]
Christopher Phillips, The Battle for Syria: International Rivalry in the New Middle East (Yale University Press, 2016), Introduction, and Chapters 4, 5, 6. (Paperback) ISBN: 9780300234619
Bassam Haddad, “The Idiot’s Guide to Fighting Dictatorship in Syria While Opposing Military Intervention.” Jadaliyya (20 Jan 2012). http://bit.ly/LztDx8
C 11: Understanding the Syrian Uprising: External Intervention and Post-Aleppo [Part 4]
Christopher Phillips, The Battle for Syria: International Rivalry in the New Middle East (Yale University Press, 2016), Chapters 7, 8,. (Paperback) ISBN: 9780300234619
Audio: Bassam Haddad, Lecture at Stanford, January 2016, "Causes and Dynamics of the Syrian Uprising: From Civil Protests to the Implications of the Russian Intervention," Stanford Lecture. [Link]
C 12: Understanding the Syrian Uprising: Discourses/Narratives and Ideology [Part 4] 1. [Recommended for all; required for Graduate Students] Lisa Wedeen, Authoritarian Apprehensions: Ideology, Judgment, and Mourning in Syria (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2019). [PDF] 2. Bassam Haddad, "The Debate on Syria Has Reached a Dead End," The Nation. [PDF] [Link] 3. Bassam Haddad, "The Reordering of Power Relations and the Syrian Economy." [Link]
C 13: Paper/Project Presentations Paper Presentation
Your paper presentation should be 8 minutes long, and should address the 5 sections below, with an emphasis on the body of the paper, i.e., #4. Make sure you rehearse your presentation so it’s between 6-8 minutes, but no longer than 8.
Introduction. (maximum of 2 pages--concisely written) An introduction includes your thesis and introduces the reader to your research paper. This part should be punchy and compelling, not wordy and flat.
Literature Review. (2-3 pages) A literature review presents to the reader the most important scholarly answers to date to your general research question and provides a rationale for your own paper (if others addressed this topic, why are you writing it? Usually it’s because you are offering something new, or applying a new approach, or approaching it from a new angle or based on recent developments, etc.)
Hypothesisand Methodology (1-2 pages) In this section, you explain exactly how you are going to conduct your research and why your research strategy will help you answer your question as accurately as possible. Here, you will address your sources and why you chose them. The hypothesis then provides in words the way in which these variables are related. If your paper is not amenable to such dissection, you still need to provide a discussion of the important factors that drive your paper.
Data Analysis and Argument. (minimum of 5-7 pages) In this section, you evaluate your thesis and make your argument. This is the “meat” of the paper, what you are used to spending most of your time on. It is also good to debunk other arguments that you do not support (hence, the importance of a good literature review as your starting point).
Conclusion. (~2 pages) What can you conclude from all your work? What did you learn? What are the implications of your findings on the larger concerns of the course and research topic. What additional questions does your paper raise?
Bassam Haddad, Lecture at Stanford, January 2016, "Causes and Dynamics of the Syrian Uprising: From Civil Protests to the Implications of the Russian Intervention." [Link]
Lund, Aron, "The Political Geography of Syria’s War: An Interview With Fabrice Balanche,” Syria in Crisis - Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 30 January 2015. http://carnegieendowment.org/syriaincrisis/?fa=58875
February 29, 2012 “The End of Taking the Syrian Revolution at Face Value” http://bit.ly/KjKwfj
January 20, 2012 “The Idiot’s Guide to Fighting Dictatorship in Syria While Opposing Military Intervention.” Jadaliyya (20 Jan 2012). http://bit.ly/LztDx8
March 9, 2011 “Why Syria is not Next…so far” [With Arabic Translation] http://bit.ly/LBKVvj