the living dead

291 Pages·2016·11.48 MB·English

THE LIVING DEAD
Revolutionary Subjectivity and Syrian Rebel-Workers in Beirut

Philip James Proudfoot

London School of Economics and Political Science

PhD Thesis

Department of Social Anthropology

March 2016
DECLARATION

I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the MPhil/Ph.D. degree of the
London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work other than where I
have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work
carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it).

The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided
that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without my prior
written consent. I warrant that this authorization does not, to the best of my belief, infringe
the rights of any third party. I declare that my thesis consists of 119,869 words.

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ABSTRACT
This thesis is about the emergence, materializations, and transformations of revolutionary
subjectivity amongst male Syrian migrant workers in Beirut. It documents how these
processes surfaced within, and impacted on, their daily life. On the basis of over twenty-four
months of participant-observation, semi-structured interviews, and oral history collection, it
identifies some of the key mechanisms through which the uprising was experienced and
lived out at a distance.
For an extended period, Lebanon has maintained a significant population of Syrian
migrant workers. Many arrived in Beirut before the first rumblings of the uprising, but when
it broke, some temporarily returned to Syria hoping to participate via peaceful protest or,
later, armed resistance. Yet many also found space in Beirut, through new communication
technology and face-to-face interaction, to take part in the uprising. The often neglected
perspective of Syria’s labouring diaspora is critical because, for these ‘rebel-workers,’ the
same socio-economic pressures that structured their initial decisions to migrate from the
countryside to sell labour power in the city resembles what many have identified as the
material foundations for the uprising itself.
The study begins with an outline of Syria’s history and its political economy to
reveal how the Ba’athist state once achieved a degree of legitimacy amongst impoverished
and rural workers. Legitimacy was won with thanks to a system that prevented absolute
poverty and rising inequality. When this system collapsed, a major support base for the state
fell away. From this foundation, the remaining chapters describe how the journey to ‘rebel’
became variously represented, reinforced and re-made. To reveal how uprisings are
experienced at a distance, and how rebel identities form in conditions of displacement, these
subjective processes are described in chapters that evaluate, in turn, the nature of populist
political language; the role of electronically circulated art objects; the emergence of
martyrdom commemoration practices across new media networks; the challenges to
maintaining patriarchal gender identity in exile and finally the proliferation of conspiratorial
discourse.
I conclude that the Syrian uprising was fundamentally populist in nature and thus
powerfully explosive, but external structures ultimately determined its transformation into a
simultaneously civil and proxy war. While this transformation was at first ‘resisted,’ these
revolutionary subjectivities ultimately appeared as if they were beginning to fold into, and
reflect, the degradation of the uprising itself.
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For The Martyrs of Syria

and

My Mum, Dad, and Granda

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CONTENTS:

A NOTE ON CONVENTIONS 7
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 8
A TIMELINE OF SELECTED MAJOR EVENTS 9
SYRIA CONFLICT MAP 11
INTRODUCTION 12
Marriage in the Time of Revolution
REBEL-WORKERS 13
REVOLUTION FROM A DISTANCE 15
EXAMS AND THE FUTURE 17
A NEW TRADITION 20
REVOLUTIONARY SUBJECTIVITY 25
FROM CONSENT TO COERCION 29
ACTIVISM, REFLEXIVITY, AND ETHICS 31
THE FIELD 39
THE LIVING DEAD 42
PART I: AWAKENING 51
CHAPTER ONE 52
Unity, Liberty, and Socialism
INTRODUCTION 52
CYNICISM AND IDEOLOGY 57
SYKES-PICOT IS OVER 62
UNITY 65
LIBERTY AND SOCIALISM 73
FROM PEASENT TO WORKER 75
FROM STATE SOCIALISM TO MARKET LIBERALISM 77
CONCLUSION 84
CHAPTER TWO 89
The People Demand
INTRODUCTION 89
DEMANDS 91
SHADI 95
POPULIST REASON 99
JAMAL 107
ABDULLAH 113
CONCLUSION 118
PART II CONTAGION 122
CHAPTER THREE 123
Art, Uprising, and Smartphones
INTRODUCTION 123
SOCIAL MEDIA AND SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 127
THE KISS 132
ART, AGENCY, AND REVOLUTION 135
ESTABLISHMENT ART 141
OPPOSITIONAL IDENTITY ART 145
PROPAGANDA AND ICONOCLASM 149
CONCLUSION 154
IMAGES 159
Chapters 1 - 3 159
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CHAPTER FOUR 165
Rebel-Martyrs: Betwixt and Between No More
INTRODUCTION 165
WHAT IS A REBEL-MARTYR? 170
A WEDDING TRAGEDY 176
HEROES AND MARTYRS 178
NADIR 179
HOW ARE REBEL-MARTYRS MADE? 184
THE FIRST BRITISH BROTHER 187
CONCLUSION 189
PART III: CONTAINMENT 192
CHAPTER FIVE 193
This is Beirut: Consumption, Masculinity, and Crisi s
INTRODUCTION 193
MODELLING MASCULINITY 198
DON’T I LOOK LEBANESE? 201
MOBILE PHONES AND SPORTS 204
EATING WITH YOUR HANDS 208
ARE THE SHABĀB IN CRISIS? 213
KŪFIYYAT AND AK-47s 219
CONCLUSION 223
IMAGES 227
Chapter 4 – 5 227
CHAPTER SIX 231
Conspiracy, Rupture, and Truth
INTRODUCTION 231
OBJECTS AND ORIGINATORS OF CONSPIRACY 235
THE STATE, TRUTH, AND POWER 242
YOU CAN’T TRUST [SHIA] 245
THE RISE OF ISLAMIC STATE 249
THE ALLURE AND FOUNDATIONS OF (MIS)RECOGNITION 252
(UN)MAKING THE ISLAMIC STATE 255
CONCLUSION 259
CONCLUSIONS 262
It’s Your Turn Doctor 262
REFERENCES 274

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A NOTE ON CONVENTIONS

TRANSLITERATION
Arabic words are transliterated according to the system developed by the International
Journal of Middle Eastern Studies. Included are special characters, diacritic sounds and long
vowels. Where contextually appropriate some transliterations have been adapted to reflect the
original dialect and others written in line with the pronunciation of Modern Standard Arabic.
Arabic transliterations are not italicised and when a term is first introduced a translation is
provided within square brackets.

PROPER NOUNS
Arabic names of places, towns, and people are transliterated according to the above system
unless an alternative transcription is dominant in English. For example, Abdullah and not
ʿAbdu ʼllah; Deraa not Darʽa; Shia not Shiʿa .

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
In March 2016 a UN-brokered ceasefire came into effect in Syria, the country witnessed one
its calmest days since the popular uprising degraded into a civil and proxy war. In a number
of rebel held areas protestors returned to demonstrate in the streets. The conflict has seen over
250,000 people killed and 4.2 million displaced, but members of the crowds were reported to
be even holding up the sign, “The people want the downfall of the regime”. The bravery of
the Syrian people in the face of danger and uncertainty is truly astounding. This thesis would
not have have been possible if it were not for a wonderful group of displaced rebels in Beirut
who were so willing to share their aspirations, thoughts and daily lives with me. Bu twith an
uncertain future still ahead, their names must nonetheless remain hidden behind pseudonyms .
My principal supervisor, Professor Martha Mundy, has taught me since I was an
undergraduate at the LSE. As a reader, she has challenged my ideas and helped shape my
work in uncountable ways. I thank my secondary supervisor, Dr. Mathijs Pelkmans for his
patience and for providing such thoughtful commentary on draft chapters .
In 2010 I was still planning on fieldwork in Damascus and not in Beirut. For this
reason, I can not overstate my gratitude to the people who made my introduction to Lebanon
so enjoyable. I was collected from the airport by Gustavo Barbosa, and I was his guest for
several weeks as I found my feet. While studying Arabic my fellow classmate, Miriam Stock
provided invaluable conversations that helped me begin to reformulate my research. Without
Mohammad Hosso I would have likely not felt myself at home in Beirut, and my research
would have taken even longer to begin. I am thankful also for the support offered by the
American University of Beirut.
I wrote this text between Beirut and London, elements have been informed by my
conversations in both cities. In Beirut, I must thank, in no particular order: Olivia Alabaster,
Nader Atassi, Jonathan Dagher, Rita Yara, Pete Targe, Sophie Rimington-Pounder, Hamed
Sinno, Tory Brykalski, Safa Hamza, Michael Jerab, Ali Kadri, Daniel Neep, Ryan John
Stultz, Alaa Minawi, Philip Issa and Alison Meuse. A special mention must go to Mahdi
Zaidan for his willingness to read numerous drafts and for his wonderfully thoughtful
comments. In London I must thank, again in no particular order: Emily Fu, Henry Lodge,
Ashok Kumar, Danny McNally, Peter Adams, Charlotte Gerada, Olivia Herbert, Duncan
Crystal, Daniel Oldfield, Meadhbh McIvor, Fuad Musallem, Agustin Diz, Andrea Enrico Pia,
Natalia Buitron, Susannah Crockford, Katherine Fletcher, Julia Huang, Mark Stanford,
Christopher Martin and Fernande Pool. Finally, I thank all staff and colleagues at the LSE
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A TIMELINE OF MAJOR EVENTS

2011: Civil Uprising, Repression, and Violence
6th March: Syrian authorities arrest fifteen school children in Deraa, Southern Syria, for writing
revolutionary slogans on their schoolyard walls. They are alleged to have been tortured in
detention leading to an uproar and series of demonstrations in the city
15th March: Named the “day of rage” by activists, protests are staged in Damascus and Aleppo that call for
reforms, civil liberties and freedom for political prisoners
18th March: Security forces are alleged to have opened fire on protests in Deraa, killing 4 in what is known
to have been the first deaths of the uprising. Protests and crackdowns continue to spread
April: State security storm an occupation in Homs that was attempting to mimic Cairo’s Tahrir
Square
May: The Syrian Army is by this point deployed in Deraa, Homs, Banyas and the Damascus
suburbs. The European Union begins an arms embargo, asset freeze and travel ban on senior
officials. Reports suggest Iran is providing assistance and equipment to help suppress the civil
unrest.
June: The violence reached new levels, this was signalled by events unfolding in the town of Jisr al-
Shughur. The regime claimed 120 were killed by an armed gang, and activists suggested they
were killed for deserting the army and joining protestors. Shortly afterwards the uprising
claims to have liberated Jisr al-Shughur, but elite government troops retake it within days.
July: Military defectors announce the formation of the Free Syrian Army [FSA]
August: President Barack Obama calls for Assad to resign and orders the Syrian regime’s assets frozen.
September: The US and the European Union ban Syrian oil imports. The Turkish government cuts contact
with Syrian authorities. Fighting between the Syrian military and defecting troops escalates.
November: Violence continues, the Arab League peace plan fails.
December: Damascus now agrees to allow Arab League monitors into the country to observe compliance
with a new agreement, however, one day before they are due to arrive in Syria the government
is alleged to have fired on an anti-government demonstration in Hama. 200 are reported
massacred in Idlib by security forces. At the end of the first year, the UN claims 5,000 have
died.
2012: Civil War
January: Jabhat al-Nusra’s is formed and this marks al-Qaeda’s official entrance into the Syria conflict.
The group proves itself fighting against the regime and alliances are made with more
‘moderate groups.'
March: One year since the start of the uprising; Syrian troops push into Homs. Kofi Annan’s non-
binding peace plan is endorsed but fails and the violence continues
May: 100 killed in the Houla massacre; a later UN report lays the blame on Assad-aligned gangs, the
so-called Shabiha. Parliamentary elections are held but boycotted by the opposition; most seats
go to Assad.
June: Fighting spreads toward Aleppo, Syria’s second city, and commercial capital. Rebels gradually
take control over half of the city, and this battle continues at the time of writing. The Red
Cross decla the situation a Civil War.
August: Kofi Annan quits as the UN-Arab League’s envoy. Obama declares for the first time that his
‘red line’ on the Syria crisis would be the use of chemical weapons.
September: The US officially agree to supply rebel forces with a total of $45 million non-lethal aid
November: The Syria National Council (SNC) is created with the idea of gathering together the many
opposition fractions. However, from its very beginning, there are signs of infighting and on-
the-ground many feel the SNC is disconnected from reality.
2013: Refugee Crisis and Chemical Weapons
January: Israel is alleged to have carried out an attack on a convoy of ‘advanced anti-aircraft weapons’
bound for Hezbollah in Lebanon.
February: A number of reports emerge that suggest foreign aid is finding its way into weapons supplies;
rebels make gains.
March: Three years since the uprising; officially UN-registered refugees hit 1 million.
April: Foreign Jihadi organisations grow in number; in Iraq, a man called Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
announces that Jabhat al-Nusra is an extension of his group, ‘The Islamic State of Iraq.' The
leader of Nusra, Abu Mohammad al-Joulani suggests otherwise. Meanwhile in Lebanon,
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FIRST PERIOD OF FIELDWORK IN BEIRUT
Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, admits for the first time publically that his group is
engaged in Syria.
July: A UN report is released suggesting the total number of dead has reached 100,000
August: 21st of August: the regime is accused of committing a chemical weapons attack in the Ghouta,
a rebel-controlled area near Damascus. Numbers put the dead at 1,400. The regime denies the
assault, with others suggesting it was a rebel ‘false-flag’ operation engineered to provoke US
intervention. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom puts military intervention to
parliament but is outvoted.
September: Islamic factions within the SNC split and form the ‘Islamic Front’ whose official aim is now a
future state subject to Islamic law.
October: In response to US pressure, a deal is struck with the Syrian government which agrees to
destroy their chemical weapon production equipment. Meanwhile, increasing violence
witnesses the total number of refugees hit two million.
November: A major suicide attack on the Iranian embassy in Beirut kills 21, Jabhat al-Nusra remains the
likely suspects
2014: Islamic State and Counterrevolution
January: Leaked images suggest regime prisoners are being killed on an ‘industrial scale.' Geneva peace
talks begin
February: The second round of talks brings no results, and the then Join Special Envoy to Syria, Lakhdar
Brahimi resigns. Barrel bomb attacks are reported to have increased, but the regime denies it is
using such tactics.
March: The Syrian army, backed by Hezbollah, takes back Yabroud from the rebels. Yabroud was the
last city held by rebels on the border with Lebanon.
May: Under ceasefire arrangements, the government resumes control of Homs. Rebels are given 48
hours to leave the city.
June: In government-held areas general elections are carried out, more than one candidate is
permitted, but the international community and rebels refuse to cooperate, they declare the
elections a sham. Islamic State [IS] is now a self-declared caliphate, with Baghdadi the head.
IS controls territory from Aleppo to Iraq.
July: IS takes control of the al-Omar oil field, the largest in Syria, after a fight between IS and
Nusra. Staffan de Mistura is named the new UN envoy to Syria.
August: Islamic State publishes a video showing the beheading of the American journalist James Foley,
the first amongst a group of five Western hostages to be executed by the group
September: In response to hostage executions, the US carries out its first airstrike against IS. IS begins its
offensive against the Kurdish town of Kobani, located on the border with Turkey.
October: Lebanon now closes its borders to Syrians fleeing the conflict; its population of refugees hits
one million
December: 76,000 are reported by the UN to have been killed in 2014, making it the single most deadly
year. Lebanon introduces a new sponsorship system for Syrian workers
2015: Interventions
January: New reports suggest Syrian rebel groups, trained and armed by the CIA, will soon have their
funds and weapon supplies cut.
March: IS is pushed back in both Iraq and Syria. Jaish al-Fatah, backed by Turkey, Qatar, and Saudi
Arabia, takes control of Idlib
May: Palmyra is taken by IS and many world heritage monuments are destroyed.
September: Russia begins its intervention in Syria, the Kremlin claims it is targeting only the IS group but
the opposition respond that all rebels are targeted.
November: Over 40 killed in a double suicide attack in a South Beirut marketplace, IS claims
responsibility
December: After IS claims responsibility for Paris Bataclan attacks, both the UK and France join the US
and Russia in their bombing campaigns over Syria.
2016: Ceasefire and Pushback
February: The United States and Russia attempt to broker a ceasefire between the government and
opposition forces, Islamic State is excluded from the agreement. This follows a government
push to re-take Aleppo
March: The Syrian Army, with Russian air support, takes Palmyra back from IS. Later that same
month the Russian orchestra plays a triumphal concert amongst the ruins.

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SECOND PERIOD OF FIELDWORK IN BEIRUT