Syria's Democratic Years
Citizens, Experts, and Media in the 1950s
1st Edition
Published on 4. March 2020
234 pages
978-0-253-01893-9 (ISBN)
Description
This study of mid-20th century Syria blends "cultural theory and comparative history" to offer "intellectual depth and relevance beyond the case at hand" (
The Middle East Journal).
When Syria became fully independent in 1946, the young republic faced the task of forging a new national identity. From 1954 to 1958, Syria enjoyed a brief period of civilian government-popularly known as "The Democratic Years"-before the consolidation of authoritarian rule. In Syria's Democratic Years, Kevin W. Martin provides a cultural history of the period and argues that the authoritarian outcome was anything but inevitable.
Examining the flourishing broadcast and print media of the time, Martin focuses on three public figures, whose professions-law, the military, and medicine-projected modernity and modeled the new Arab citizen. This experiment with democracy, however abortive, offers a model of governance from Syria's historical experience that could serve as an alternative to dictatorship.
When Syria became fully independent in 1946, the young republic faced the task of forging a new national identity. From 1954 to 1958, Syria enjoyed a brief period of civilian government-popularly known as "The Democratic Years"-before the consolidation of authoritarian rule. In Syria's Democratic Years, Kevin W. Martin provides a cultural history of the period and argues that the authoritarian outcome was anything but inevitable.
Examining the flourishing broadcast and print media of the time, Martin focuses on three public figures, whose professions-law, the military, and medicine-projected modernity and modeled the new Arab citizen. This experiment with democracy, however abortive, offers a model of governance from Syria's historical experience that could serve as an alternative to dictatorship.
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11/2015
Indiana University Press
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11/2015
Indiana University Press
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Person
Kevin W. Martin is Assistant Professor of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures and Adjunct Assistant Professor of History at Indiana University.
Content
Introduction The Virtuous Citizen and the Postcolonial State 1. Syria during the Democratic Years 2. The Citizen and the Law 3. Social Justice and the Patriarchal Citizen 4. Punishing the Enemies of Arabism 5. Making the Martial Citizen 6. The Magic of Modern Pharmaceuticals 7. Sex and the Conjugal Citizen Conclusion Citizens on the Tenth Day
