Ambiguities of domination, politics, rhetoric, and symbols in contemporary Syria : with a new preface, Lisa Wedeen
Type
Creator
1
Subject
6
Mapped to
1
Label
Ambiguities of domination, politics, rhetoric, and symbols in contemporary Syria : with a new preface, Lisa Wedeen
Language
eng
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 211-230) and index
Illustrations
illustrations
Index
index present
Literary form
non fiction
Main title
Ambiguities of domination
Nature of contents
bibliography
Oclc number
907206106
Responsibility statement
Lisa Wedeen
Sub title
politics, rhetoric, and symbols in contemporary Syria : with a new preface
Summary
Treating rhetoric and symbols as central rather than peripheral to politics, Lisa Wedeen's groundbreaking book offers a compelling counterargument to those who insist that politics is primarily about material interests and the groups advocating for them. During the thirty-year rule of President Hafiz al-Asad's regime, his image was everywhere. In newspapers, on television, and during orchestrated spectacles. Asad was praised as the "father, " the "gallant knight, " even the country's "premier pharmacist." Yet most Syrians, including those who create the official rhetoric, did not believe its claims. Why would a regime spend scarce resources on a personality cult whose content is patently spurious? Wedeen shows how such flagrantly fictitious claims were able to produce a politics of public dissimulation in which citizens acted as if they revered the leader. By inundating daily life with tired symbolism, the regime exercised a subtle, yet effective form of power. The cult worked to enforce obedience, induce complicity, isolate Syrians from one another, and set guidelines for public speech and behavior. Wedeen's ethnographic research demonstrates how Syrians recognized the disciplinary aspects of the cult and sought to undermine them. In a new preface, Wedeen discusses the uprising against the Syrian regime that began in 2011 and questions the usefulness of the concept of legitimacy in trying to analyze and understand authoritarian regimes.--, Provided by Publisher
Table of contents
Preface, 2015 Acknowledgments A Note on Transliteration 1. Believing in Spectacles 2. Killing Politics: Official Rhetoric and Permissable Speech 3. Acting "As If": The Story of M 4. Signs of Transgression 5. Complicating Compliance Notes Bibliography Index
Incoming Resources
- Has instance2