Introduction: For 'God, Syria, Bashar and Nothing Else'? -- Michael
Kerr
PART I ALAWIS: SECRECY AND SURVIVAL
1. The Genesis of Syria's Alawi Minority -- Aslam Farouk-Alli 2.
The Alawis in the Ottoman Period -- Stefan H Winter 3. Community,
Sect, Nation: Colonial and Social Scientific Discourses on the
Alawis in Syria during the Mandate and Early Independence Periods
-- Max Weiss
PART II ALAWIS AND THE SYRIAN STATE
4. 'Go to Damascus, my son': Alawi Demographic Shifts under Ba'ath
Party Rule -- Fabrice Balanche 5. Syrian Alawis and the Ba'ath
Party -- Raymond Hinnebusch 6. The Syrian Muslim Brotherhood's
Alawi Conundrum -- Raphael Lefevre
PART III ALAWI COMMUNITIES, IDENTITIES AND POWER
7. Alawi Diversity and Solidarity: From the Coast to the Interior
-- Leon T. Goldsmith 8. Patronage and Clientelism in Bashar's
Social Market Economy -- Alan George 9. The Alawis of Tripoli:
Identity, Violence and Urban Geopolitics -- Craig Larkin and Olivia
Midha
PART IV ALAWIS IN CONFLICT AND CONTESTATION
10. Chasing Ghosts: The Shabiha Phenomenon -- Aron Lund 11. Alawis
in the Syrian Opposition -- Carsten Wieland 12. Repression is not
'a Stupid Thing': Regime Responses to the Syrian Uprising and
Insurgency -- Reinoud Leenders
Michael Kerr is Professor of Conflict Studies and Director of the Middle East and Mediterranean Studies programme, at King's College London. Craig Larkin is Lecturer in Comparative Politics of the Middle East, King's College London.
An outstanding collection of essays by leading scholars of
contemporary Syria. Without doubt this book will remain a core text
for an understanding of the sect which remains at the heart of the
Baathist regime.
*Lord Williams of Baglan, former UN envoy in the Middle East*
A fascinating collection of excellent in-depth studies dealing with
the unique role and backgrounds of Alawis in contemporary Syria,
Lebanon and Turkey. The authors convincingly analyse the complex
origins of the sectarian tinted war in Syria, the struggle for
survival of its Alawi dominated Ba'th regime, and the wish of the
Sunni population majority to definitively rid themselves of half a
century of Alawi-dominated dictatorship. This volume fills an
important gap in Syria studies.
*Nikolaos van Dam, author of The Struggle for Power in Syria:
Politics and Society Under Asad and the Ba'th Party*
Kerr and Larkin's collection of essays looks set to become an
essential source of rigorous academic research and analysis on the
complex history and contemporary role of Alawis in Syria.
Approaching the subject from a broad range of angles, The Alawis of
Syria is intensely rich in detail and provides an exceptional level
of analysis on a subject all too often limited to 'on the surface'
accounts.
*Charles Lister, Visiting Fellow, Brookings Doha Center and author
of The Syrian Jihad: Al-Qaeda, the Islamic State and the Evolution
of an Insurgency*
By far the most comprehensive and up-to-date account on a sensitive
and complex subject. The Alawis of Syria is well informed and well
researched, and comes at a time when the issue is becoming ever
more timely. Reports that young Alawis have been dodging the
military service and fatal incidents among the regime's supporters
in Bashar al-Assad's heartlands have raised questions about the
nature of Alawis' relationship to the Assad regime. This book has
timely answers for many questions pertinent to this minority whose
role, in war and peace, will determine the future of Syria.
*Hassan Hassan, Associate Fellow, MENA Programme, Chatham House and
co-author of ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror*
A timely collection of studies on a community that is much talked
about, yet still poorly understood. This volume is unparalleled in
terms of depth, breadth, and diversity of approaches, and will
therefore constitute a landmark in the literature on the
Alawites.
*Thomas Pierret, Lecturer in Contemporary Islam, University of
Edinburgh and author of Religion and State in Syria: The Sunni
Ulama from Coup to Revolution*
Kerr and Larkin bring together the finest commentators on Syria's
most powerful and most contested minority. The excellent
contributions shed light on the role of Alawis in Syria's past and
present. This book is a compelling read, which is essential to our
understanding of how to address and involve this important group in
resolving the Syria conflict.
*Bente Scheller, Director of the Heinrich Böll Foundation's Middle
East office in Beirut, and author of The Wisdom of Syria's Waiting
Game: Foreign Policy Under the Assads*
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