Dissident Syria: Making Oppositional Arts Official

Dissident Syria: Making Oppositional Arts Official
miriam cooke (Author)

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Syria

From 1970 until his death in 2000, Hafiz Asad ruled Syria with an iron fist. His regime controlled every aspect of daily life. Seeking to preempt popular unrest, Asad sometimes facilitated the expression of anti-government sentiment by appropriating the work of artists and writers, turning works of protest into official agitprop. Syrian dissidents were forced to negotiate between the desire to genuinely criticize the authoritarian regime, the risk to their own safety and security that such criticism would invite, and the fear that their work would be co-opted as government propaganda, as what miriam cooke calls “commissioned criticism.” In this intimate account of dissidence in Asad’s Syria, cooke describes how intellectuals attempted to navigate between charges of complicity with the state and treason against it.

A renowned scholar of Arab cultures, cooke spent six months in Syria during the mid-1990s familiarizing herself with the country’s literary scene, particularly its women writers. While she was in Damascus, dissidents told her that to really understand life under Hafiz Asad, she had to speak with playwrights, filmmakers, and, above all, the authors of “prison literature.” She shares what she learned in Dissident Syria. She describes touring a sculptor’s studio, looking at the artist’s subversive work as well as at pieces commissioned by the government. She relates a playwright’s view that theater is unique in its ability to stage protest through innuendo and gesture. Turning to film, she shares filmmakers’ experiences of making movies that are praised abroad but rarely if ever screened at home. Filled with the voices of writers and artists, Dissident Syria reveals a community of conscience within Syria to those beyond its borders.

• Rank: #158581 in Books
• Published on: 2007-08-14
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 8.66" h x .51" w x 6.18" l, .62 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

Adaptable Autocrats: Regime Power in Egypt and Syria (Stanford Studies in Middle Eastern and Islamic Societies and Culture)

Adaptable Autocrats: Regime Power in Egypt and Syria (Stanford Studies in Middle Eastern and Islamic Societies and Culture)
Joshua Stacher (Author)

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Syria

The decades-long resilience of Middle Eastern regimes meant that few anticipated the 2011 Arab Spring. But from the seemingly rapid leadership turnovers in Tunisia and Egypt to the protracted stalemates in Yemen and Syria, there remains a common outcome: ongoing control of the ruling regimes. While some analysts and media outlets rush to look for democratic breakthroughs, autocratic continuity—not wide-ranging political change—remains the hallmark of the region's upheaval.

Contrasting Egypt and Syria, Joshua Stacher examines how executive power is structured in each country to show how these preexisting power configurations shaped the uprisings and, in turn, the outcomes. Presidential power in Egypt was centralized. Even as Mubarak was forced to relinquish the presidency, military generals from the regime were charged with leading the transition. The course of the Syrian uprising reveals a key difference: the decentralized character of Syrian politics. Only time will tell if Asad will survive in office, but for now, the regime continues to unify around him. While debates about election timetables, new laws, and the constitution have come about in Egypt, bloody street confrontations continue to define Syrian politics—the differences in authoritarian rule could not be more stark.

Political structures, elite alliances, state institutions, and governing practices are seldom swept away entirely—even following successful revolutions—so it is vital to examine the various contexts for regime survival. Elections, protests, and political struggles will continue to define the region in the upcoming years. Examining the lead-up to the Egyptian and Syrian uprisings helps us unlock the complexity behind the protests and transitions. Without this understanding, we lack a roadmap to make sense of the Middle East's most important political moment in decades.

• Rank: #166850 in Books
• Published on: 2012-04-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 9.02" h x .55" w x 5.98" l, 1.01 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

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all our items our feedback faqs about us contact us item description adaptable autocrats regime power in egypt and syria stanford studies in middle eastern and islamic societies and cultures ean 978 0804780636 isbn 10 0 804780633 ref bnt 0804780633 title adaptable autocrats regime power in egypt and syria stanford studies in middle eastern and islamic societies and cultures author stacher joshua