DOCSLIB.ORG

Streets Songs from the Syrian Protests

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Streets Songs from the Syrian Protests Orient-Institut Studies 2 (2013) Simon Dubois Streets songs from the Syrian protests <1> Since March 2011, the Syrian uprising has created spaces for popular expression that were restricted during the preceding four decades of dictatorship. Numerous productions of texts, poems, caricatures, and songs began to appear on social media sites, and activists then gathered them onto networks providing local alternative information. These networks included websites, blogs, YouTube channels, Facebook and Twitter accounts. They often contained sections titled "Art of the Revolution" or the like, which listed the cultural production of the protests. <2> This article is part of a study conducted online via networks (for instance, F.N.N,1 Deir Press2) and websites or YouTube channels that focused on the revolution©s music, such as "Music from the great or Dndne Indesasye.4 An initial survey of protest 3,( موسيقى الثورة العربية الكبرى) "Arab revolution songs, conducted between October 2011 and March 2012, revealed a vast production of protest music. This research presents some of the results of a global analysis carried out on a collection of material composed exclusively of demonstration chants, which represented cultural production in the service of protest. Videos of the demonstrations that frequently accompany these chants have a special status, since they are evidence that the protest rallies really took place, a fact that was repeatedly denied by the regime at the beginning of the protest movement. <3> In this research, demonstration chants are determined by two criteria. First, there must be interaction between the public and the singer; that is to say, the audience has to be active, repeating some lyrics that constitute the chorus. This allows us to distinguish chants from poetry recitals (in which the audience merely listens), or from slogans (repeated solely by the public). Secondly, the singer must be an adult, since the chants sung by children display a different emotional dimension and children generally cannot be considered as their authors. 1 The F.N.N network is available online at: http://www.facebook.com/syria.news.F.N.N <06.12.2012>. 2 The Deir Press network is available online at: http://www.facebook.com/DeirPressNetworkEnglish <06.12.2012>. :is available online at (موسيقى الثورة العربية الكبرى) "The website "Music from the great Arab revolution 3 http://music-of-revolution.blogspot.fr/ <06.12.2012> 4 The YouTube channel "Dndne Indesasye" is available online at: http://www.youtube.com/user/DndneIndesasye/videos <06.12.2012> Lizenzhinweis: Dieser Beitrag unterliegt der Creative-Commons-Lizenz Namensnennung-Keine kommerzielle Nutzung-Keine Bearbeitung (CC-BY-NC-ND), darf also unter diesen Bedingungen elektronisch benutzt, übermittelt, ausgedruckt und zum Download bereitgestellt werden. Den Text der Lizenz erreichen Sie hier: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/de <4> The time frame of the corpus ranges from 22 April 2011 until mid-March 2012. It can be divided in two parts: the first part runs from the beginning of the revolution to early August 2011 (when the Free Syrian Army was created) and corresponds to a phase of peaceful demands based on the people©s legitimate rights for power. The second part, from August 2011 to mid-March 2012, reflects a progressive rise of armed struggle alongside more peaceful demands, an evolution that is perceptible through the different chants. Some results and observations of this research are outlined in the following analysis of four chants. The lyrics in Arabic are available in the appendix. The transcription tries to respect the main characteristics of the Syrian dialect while remaining understandable to all Arabic speakers. (5يل ارحل يا بشار ) "Chant 1: "Get out Bashar <5> is attributed to a singer from Hama called ,( يل ارحل يا بشار) "The well-known chant, "Get out Bashar Ibrahim Qashoush. He sang it for the first time on 27 June 2011, and had his throat cut a week later, on 4 July. His identity as the performer of this song is contested, since we can find other songs sung on 30 July ,(6 يا عيني يا روحي) "attributed to him post-mortem, such as "Oh my eye, oh my soul 2011). Therefore he might have been the author of the chant, but not the singer. <6> With this chant, Ibrahim Qashoush became both a symbol and a martyr of the Syrian revolution. His murder revealed the regime's fear of artistic and popular creativity, which pushed it to resort to the murder or mutilation of artists (the caricaturist Ali Farzat had his hands broken in August 2011). This chant was taken up, modified, and adapted by each singer and province. The representation of its singer-leader-martyr appears throughout Syria, as we can see with the emergence of singers nicknamed "Qashoush from so-and-so"; for instance Qashoush from Harasta (a town in the north of Damascus), who was killed on 5 February 2012, or Qashoush from Jarjanaz (a town in the north of Syria, next to the city of Maarat al-Numaan). We can even note the appearance of the term Qashoushiyyat, meaning chants made in Qashoush's style, defining an integral type of protest music. ?is available online at: http://www.youtube.com/watch ,(يل ارحل يا بشار) "The video of the chant "Get out Bashar 5 v=nM_7rlDvcpM&feature=channel_video_title <06.12.2012> :is available online at ,(يا عيني يا روحي) "The video of the chant "Oh my eye oh my soul 6 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YG3Q03Rg-s <06.12.2012> Lizenzhinweis: Dieser Beitrag unterliegt der Creative-Commons-Lizenz Namensnennung-Keine kommerzielle Nutzung-Keine Bearbeitung (CC-BY-NC-ND), darf also unter diesen Bedingungen elektronisch benutzt, übermittelt, ausgedruckt und zum Download bereitgestellt werden. Den Text der Lizenz erreichen Sie hier: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/de <7> "Get out Bashar" was released following the speech of President Bashar al-Asad on 20 June 2011,7 in which he affirmed the existence of an international conspiracy against Syria ± one of the reasons why demonstrators call him a liar. The term also refers to the president's promise of numerous reforms, none of which would effectively change the functioning of the state. <8> The chant was the first "hit" of the Syrian demonstrations. It drew its immediate popularity from the in a Syrian chant for the first ,(ارحل) "reappropriation of the Arab revolutions' key expression, "Get out time.8 An analysis of the collected material indicates that it is the most used expression against Bashar and other animal names, which are a way to break (حمار) "al-Asad. We can find the insult "donkey down mental barriers after forty years of dictatorship that completely forbade any form of insult to the and (مجرم) "murderer" ,(جزار) "president. The most used adjectives are "executioner" or "butcher The prevalence of adjectives related to murder reflects the popular opinion that Bashar .(قاتل) "killer" al-Asad was the one responsible for the massacres. This has some significance, because at the beginning of the uprising and its early repression, a section of Syrian opinion believed in a puppet president, guided by his mother and brother. This "traditional" approach was disproved after the first massacres. The theory stemmed from the modern and reformist image of Bashar al-Asad created when he came to power in 2000, as a leader whose methods were very different from those of his father. <9> Ibrahim Qashoush emancipates himself from the language conventions and insults Bashar al-Asad .for instance, can be translated as "screw you". It reveals a double transgression ,"طز فيك" ;directly First, the singer avoids the morality that implies a decent language (for the general public) by referring to the bottom. On the other hand, it is an insult openly addressed to the president, something inconceivable until then. In the video clip we can even hear the astonishment of the public when the .is used, followed by applause, as if a mental barrier had been broken down (ط ز) "word "ass <10> The lyrics of other chants could be even more vulgar against Bashar al-Asad. For instance, "you will 9,"ديوث" containing a sexual meaning), or the insult ,اجباري بدك تقلب) "definitely be knocked over 7 The video of President Bashar al-Asad's speech, on 20 June 2011, is available online at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3dNMienjX8&feature=relmfu <06.12.2012> 8 Compare Nader Srage's article on "Irhal" in this volume. The video is available .(ساقط ساقط يا بشار) ."Both insults are mentioned in the chant "You are falling Bashar 9 online at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dTiIhbiPU4&feature=youtube_gdata_player <06.12.2012> Lizenzhinweis: Dieser Beitrag unterliegt der Creative-Commons-Lizenz Namensnennung-Keine kommerzielle Nutzung-Keine Bearbeitung (CC-BY-NC-ND), darf also unter diesen Bedingungen elektronisch benutzt, übermittelt, ausgedruckt und zum Download bereitgestellt werden. Den Text der Lizenz erreichen Sie hier: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/de which means not only "pimp", but also the pimp prostituting his own family. To exceed the imposed boundaries of correctness enables protesters to demystify the regime in everyday life, and to introduce the act of criticizing it directly and radically. In contrast to the "nukta" (joke) and its tendency to remain within the limits of what is politically acceptable, the humour and explicit parodies used in the current Syrian context ± including the enjoyment of insults and foul language ± radically affirm the novelty of the revolutionary atmosphere: a time for freedom of action, of speech and of creativity that defy the tyrannical regime's norms. <11> عميل ) "Maher al-Asad an "agent of the United States ,(مندس) "Bashar is called an "infiltrator two terms frequently used by the regime©s propaganda to describe the rebels, and based on ,(المريكان the widespread anti-American sentiment among the Syrian population.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Political Analysis of the Syrian Crisis and the Zero-Problem Policy with Syria
    THE POLITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE SYRIAN CRISIS AND THE ZERO-PROBLEM POLICY WITH SYRIA A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY ŞENOL ARSLANTAŞ IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN THE DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS DECEMBER 2013 Approval of the Graduate School of Social Sciences Prof.Dr. Meliha B. ALTUNIŞIK Director I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree of Master of Science. Prof. Dr. Hüseyin BAĞCI Head of Department This is to certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Science. Prof. Dr. Süha BÖLÜKBAŞIOĞLU Supervisor Examining Committee Members Prof. Dr. İlhan UZGEL (ANKARA UNIV, IR) Prof. Dr. Süha BÖLÜKBAŞIOĞLU (METU, IR) Assoc. Prof. Dr. Özlem TÜR (METU, IR) I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work. Name, Last name: Şenol ARSLANTAŞ Signature : iii ABSTRACT THE POLITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE SYRIAN CRISES AND THE ZERO-PROBLEM POLICY WITH SYRIA Arslantaş, Şenol M.Sc., Department of International Relations Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Süha Bölükbaşıoğlu December 2013, 118 pages This thesis aims to analyze both the evolution of Turkish-Syrian relations during the period of the AKP governments and the emergence of the Syrian revolt in March 2010.
    [Show full text]
  • Arab Reform Brief
    Arab Reform Brief 51 October 2011 The Dynamics of the Uprising in Syria Hassan Abbas* Most people interested in Syrian affairs used to believe that the country was extremely stable. The regime’s media fed this belief, constantly reiterating the assertion that Syria was the most secure and stable country in the world. In fact, however, this stability was merely a veneer. In reality, cracks and rifts appeared that damaged the Syrian society, undermined its cohesion, and created numerous social problems, generating frustration and anger that grew to unbearable proportions among broad sections of the population. The incident that took place in the emboldening the market traders to break the commercial market in Damascus on 19 barrier of fear that had held Syrians in a February 2011 was the first symptom of this stranglehold for forty years. underlying frustration. On that day, a traffic policeman reprimanded the son of one of the A few days after this incident, a number of traders. The young man rose up to defend his young men working in the culture field dignity and cursed the policeman, while other gathered in front of the Libyan embassy to traders gathered round to support him. The protest in solidarity with the martyrs in Libya. situation escalated, requiring the Minister of However, the political security forces swiftly Interior to intervene to persuade the traders to intervened to break up the gathering by force. end their protest. While the incident may Such gatherings recurred, however, once in appear unremarkable, the citizens’ response front of the Egyptian embassy to celebrate the was unprecedented and came as a surprise to ousting of the Egyptian president, for a the regime.
    [Show full text]
  • Geography of the Arab Spring
    Geography of the Arab Spring An analysis of the Syrian revolutionary process from a spatial point of view By Teun van de Ven Bachel or thesi s Geogr af i e, pl anol ogi e en milieu (GPM) School of Management Radboud University Nijmegen June 2013 Geography of the Arab Spring An analysis of the Syrian revolutionary process from a spatial point of view By Teun van de Ven Bachelorthesis Geografi e, planologie en milieu (GPM) School of Management Radboud University Nijmegen June 2013 Thesis supervisor: Olivier T. Kramsch Studentnumber: 4065751 Table of contents Su m m ar y ……………………………………………………………………………….II Introduction……………………………………………………………………………1 Met hod…………………………………………………………………………………4 Chapter One - Theor et i cal f r amew or k………………………………………………….6 1.1. Revolution………………………………………………………………………………….…...6 1.1.1. Definition………………………………………………………………………………………6 1.1.2. Preconditions and causalities…………………………………………………………………...8 1.1.3. The revolutionary process…………………………………………………………………….10 1.2. Uprising……………………………………………………………………………………….12 1.3. Revolutionary wave……………………………………………………………………………12 1.4. Geography and revolutions……………………………………………………………………13 1.4.1.Demography, Urbanisation and Economy…………………………………………………….13 1.4. 2. Ur bani sat i on…………………………………………………………………………………...14 1.4.3.Economy……………………………………………………………………………………....15 1.4.4.Food shortage……………………………………………………………………………….....15 1.4.5.Culture…………………………………………………………………………………….......16 1.4.6.Focus…………………………………………………………………………………………..16 Chapter Two - The Syrian revolutionary process……………………………………..17 2.1.
    [Show full text]
  • Presentation Outline
    Syrian Civil War Oral Presentation - Outline ● Introduction: ○ What is the Syrian Civil War and how did it GENERALLY start? ■ Started during protests against the oppressive Assad regime ● Violent suppression of these protests escalated into war ■ Since then it has turned into a complex and messy civil war with many sides ○ When did it happen? ■ Started in 2011 still going on ● fighting has slowed down recently ○ Who was involved in the war? ■ Assad regime: Oppressive regime that had been in power since 1970 ■ Rebel groups: People rising against the Assad regime ■ Kurds: People from eastern Syria also fighting against the Assad regime who wanted autonomy from the rest of the country ■ ISIS: Group that broke away from the rebels and started fighting against them and the Kurds ○ Who were key players (other countries) ■ Backing Assad: Iran, Russia, Hezbollah ● Iran: ○ Involvement ■ Iran was the main supporter and the first to get involved ■ Supporting loyal forces of Assad with money, weapons, and intelligence ■ Sent military advisers ■ Backing the militant group Hezbollah ■ Organized paramilitary militia ○ Motivations ■ Iran and Syria had a mutual defense pact before the Syrian Civil War began ■ Views Syrian Civil War as a way to expand regional influence ■ The Assad regime allows for Iran to fund Hezbollah (enemy of Israel) ● Russia: ○ Involvement ■ Deployed troops ■ Fighting against ISIS ■ Fighting against anti-Assad groups ■ Provided the Assad regime cover from UN resolutions ○ Motivations ■ Wants to secure influence in the Middle East
    [Show full text]
  • Is It Possible to Understand the Syrian Revolution Through the Prism of Social Media? Juliette Harkin University of East Anglia
    WESTMINSTER PAPERS VOLUME 9 ISSUE 2 / APRIL 2013 IS IT POSSIBLE TO UNDERSTAND THE SYRIAN REVOLUTION THROUGH THE PRISM OF SOCIAL MEDIA? Juliette Harkin University of East Anglia Juliette Harkin, M.Phil Oxon, is a researcher and consultant on the Arab media and a PhD student undertaking research on Syria in the School of Political, Social and International Studies at the University of East Anglia. Her M.Phil thesis (2009) focused on the changing practice of journalism in Syria. The aim of this article is to explore a renewed and radical ‘media culture’ that has developed in the extraordinary conditions of the Syrian revolution. The article quickly dismisses the focus on the technology and platforms while using small-scale ethnography to examine social networking sites like Facebook and to underscore the diversity of content being produced by Syrians. It notes how the Syrian media revolution is clearly well under way and how radical, alternative forms of media production are flourishing. KEYWORDS media, radical alternative media, revolt, semi-published, social media, social networking sites, Syria JULIETTE HARKIN: University of East Anglia 92 93 IS IT POSSIBLE TO UNDERSTAND THE SYRIAN REVOLUTION THROUGH THE PRISM OF SOCIAL MEDIA? Juliette Harkin University of East Anglia The Arab revolutions have reminded the world that radical change can be effected by the people, rather than by top-down regime change or ‘transitology’ models that have prevailed in much academic literature (see critique in the Latin American context by Sparks, 2010). For Syrians irreversible transformations happened in the maelstrom of the revolt; they did not wait for the regime to fall or for discussion to commence about media reform blueprints.
    [Show full text]
  • The Situation in Syria
    Montana Model UN High School Conference Security Council Topic Background Guide Topic 1: The Situation in the Syrian Arab Republic1 15 September 2016 In spring 2011, when the popular uprisings of the “Arab Spring” began across the Middle-East, protests began in a number of Syrian cities calling for President Bashar Assad to resign and for an end to authoritarian rule. In response, the Syrian government used military force against protesters and granted some symbolic concessions. What began as protests has now degenerated into one of the deadliest civil wars in world history. More than 400,000 Syrians, including both combatants and civilians, have died,2 and 11.4 million people, more than half of the country’s pre-war population, has been displaced, either internally within Syria or to neighboring countries.3 In addition, according to the UN Human Rights Council and other human rights organizations, both the Syrian government and rebel groups have committed human rights violations.4 The events in Syria have affected other UN Member States. Shelling from Syria has occurred over the borders of both Turkey and Israel,5 and Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq, and Egypt have received large numbers of refugees. Today, the Syrian civil war has even affected countries beyond the Middle East. The refugee crisis has now extended into Europe, with more than 1.1 million refugees coming to Europe in 2015, including 363,000 Syrians who have lodged asylum applications and many more who have not yet applied.6 Since 2014, a United States-led coalition has been
    [Show full text]
  • SYRIA ALERT XIII Forced Ceasefires: the Case of Barzeh and Qaboun
    SYRIA ALERT XIII Forced ceasefires: The case of Barzeh and Qaboun June 20th, 2014 Over the few past months, the Assad regime has been negotiating ceasefires with opposition forces in several neighbourhoods and suburbs of Damascus. This Syria Alert looks into the ceasefire negotiations in Barzeh and Qaboun, on the basis of a longer forthcoming paper prepared by PAX’s Syrian partner Etana1. The Free Syrian Army (FSA) was forced into these negotiations as the Assad regime starved and threatened civilians while systematically destroying their neighbourhoods. The regime was not able to get all their demands as the FSA was only willing to negotiate a ceasefire and release of prisoners. The regime’s claims of victory contradict the facts on the ground, because in reality, the Assad regime did not regain control inside the neighbourhoods, but rather had only control of certain points on the outskirts and made it appear as if they had regained control. This Syria Alert concludes that the ceasefires between the Assad regime and FSA are temporary, tactical agreements as part of a military strategy and have nothing to do with political agreements. This underscores the urgency for the international community to genuinely search for a new political framework to address the conflict, after the failure of the Geneva 2 talks. Secondly, the case of Barzeh and Qaboun illustrates how the Assad regime has misrepresented the ceasefires in its public relations for Geneva 2 and the presidential elections, purporting it had gained control of certain neighbourhoods, when in fact it only gained control of some key strategic points.
    [Show full text]
  • Wagner2019.Pdf (3.884Mb)
    2 Transnational mobilities during the Syrian war An ethnography of rural refugees and Evangelical humanitarians in Mafraq, Jordan Ann-Christin Wagner PhD in International Development University of Edinburgh January 2019 3 4 Declaration I declare that this thesis has been composed solely by myself and that it has not been submitted, in whole or in part, in any previous application for a degree. Except where stated otherwise by reference or acknowledgment, the work presented is entirely my own. Some ethnographic vignettes and sub-sections appear in modified form in three publications which were released at about the same time as this thesis (Wagner 2017; Wagner 2018a; Wagner 2018b). Signature: Date: 3 January 2019 5 6 Abstract This thesis explores how conflict and closed borders have reshaped transnational mobilities in the Levant since 2011. It draws on fourteen months of ethnographic fieldwork in Mafraq, a provincial town in northern Jordan, in 2016/17. At the time of my research, Mafraq was home to ca. 100,000 locals and similar numbers of Syrians. The timeframe of the study coincides with a specific moment of the humanitarian response in Jordan when stricter encampment policies had exacerbated legal insecurity for urban refugees and the dwindling of international aid had heightened the importance of grassroots and faith-based organisations to Syrians’ daily survival. The thesis speaks to recent debates on “mobility” in the Anthropology of Humanitarianism, Forced Migration and Middle Eastern Studies. It captures intersecting transnational networks of two populations that often remain invisible to policymakers and academics: marginalized rural Syrians that come from, migrate and flee to remote borderlands in the Levant, and Evangelical humanitarians who operate mostly under the radar of the mainstream aid industry and host states.
    [Show full text]
  • The Impact of Arab Spring Throughout the Middle East and North Africa
    A MODEL OF REGIME CHANGE: THE IMPACT OF ARAB SPRING THROUGHOUT THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts By OMAR KHALFAN BIZURU BA, Al Azhar University, Egypt, 1996 MA, Institute of Arab Research and Studies, Egypt, 1998 Ph.D. Nkumba University, Uganda, 2019 2021 Wright State University WRIGHT STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL April 21st, 2021 I HEREBY RECOMMEND THAT THE THESIS PREPARED UNDER MY SUPERVISION BY Omar Khalfan Bizuru ENTITLED A Model of Regime Change: The Impact of Arab Spring Throughout the Middle East and North Africa BE ACCEPTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF Master of Arts. Vaughn Shannon, Ph.D. Thesis Director Laura M. Luehrmann, Ph.D. Director, Master of Arts Program in International and Comparative Politics Committee on Final Examination: _________________________________ Vaughn Shannon, Ph.D. School of Public and International Affairs ___________________________________ Liam Anderson, Ph.D. School of Public and International Affairs ___________________________________ Awad Halabi, Ph.D. Department of History ___________________________________ Barry Milligan, Ph.D. Vice Provost for Academic Affairs Dean of the Graduate School ABSTRACT Bizuru, Omar Khalfan, M.A., International and Comparative Politics Graduate Program, School of Public and International Affairs, Wright State University, 2021. A Model of Regime Change: The Impact of the Arab Spring Throughout the Middle East and North Africa. This study examined the catalysts for social movements around the globe; specifically, why and how the Arab Spring uprisings led to regime change in Tunisia, why they transformed into civil war in some countries of the Middle East and North Africa (Syria), and why they did not lead to significant change at all in other places (Bahrain).
    [Show full text]
  • From Daraa to Damascus: Regional and Temporal Protest Variation in Syria
    From Daraa to Damascus: Regional and Temporal Protest Variation in Syria by Shena L. Cavallo B.A. International Relations and Spanish, Duquesne University, 2007 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The Graduate School of Public and International Affairs in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of M.A International Development University of Pittsburgh 2012 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH Graduate School of Public and International Affairs This thesis was presented by Shena L. Cavallo It was defended on May 23, 2012 and approved by M. Müge Kokten-Finkel, PhD, Assistant Professor Ilia Murtazashvili, PhD, Assistant Professor Paul J. Nelson, PhD, Associate Professor Thesis Director: Luke N. Condra, PhD, Assistant Professor ii Copyright © by Shena L. Cavallo 2012 iii From Daraa to Damascus: Regional and Temporal Protest Variation in Syria Shena Cavallo, MID University of Pittsburgh, 2012 When protest erupted in Syria on March 2011, there was considerable analysis seeking to explain the initial display of collective action. While this initial showing of dissent caught some off-guard, what was more remarkable is how the protest movement managed to endure, well over a year, despite policies of severe repression, a lack of established opposition organizations, and a lack of regime defections. This paper seeks to explore which factors have sustained the protest movement, as well as the role of these factors at different stages in the ‘protest wave’ and the relationship these variables share with region- specific waves of protest. I hypothesize that more traditional approaches to understanding protest longevity must be expanded in order to help explain contemporary events of protest, particularly in authoritarian contexts.
    [Show full text]
  • 13. the Syrian Uprising
    The Syrian Uprising: Dynamics of an Insurgency Carsten Wieland, Adam Almqvist, and Helena Nassif University of St Andrews Centre for Syrian Studies 2013 1 2 The Syrian Uprising CONTENTS • Foreword—Tina Zintl. • Assad's Decade of Lost Chances—C. Wieland. • The Syrian Uprising and the Transnational Public Sphere: Transforming the Conflict in Syria—A. Almqvist. • Celebrity Politics in Troubled Times: The Case of Muna Wassef—H. Nassif. Appendix: Memorandum of the Advisory Committee about the Internal Situation on the Verge of the Second Decade of the Leadership of your Excellency. Foreword 3 Foreword Tina Zintl In this issue of the St Andrews Papers, three excellent articles – each based on empirical information collected in interviews with Syrian respondents – as well as an internal whitepaper by a presidential advisory committee share remarkable insights on the first months of the Syrian uprising that begun in March 2011. Though the articles take very different perspectives, i.e. on the transnational public space, on an individual artist’s divided loyalties as well as a retrospective state- centred point of view, they all show the inconsistencies and contradictions the Syrian political system was afflicted with and which, ultimately, were brought to the fore and aggravated by the uprising. Carsten Wieland demonstrates at which points of his rule and how Bashar al-Asad could have taken a different route down history. Wieland’s counterfactual analysis thus emphasizes that there were several lost opportunities which became particularly obvious in retrospect. For instance, what seemed, at first, like a comeback to the international stage, carefully orchestrated by the Syrian regime from the 2008 onwards, was ‘wasted’ and not translated into corresponding domestic political reform.
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter 2: the Idea of Strategic Depth
    B i l g i (27 ) , 2 0 1 3 Kış / Winter : 32- 55 Viral Voices: Revolutionary Song, Social Media, and Youth Culture in the Arab Spring Victor A. Vicente1 Abstract: Focusing on three popular “anthems” of the Arab Revolutions (“Rais Lebled” by El Général, “#Jan25 Egypt” by Omar Offendum, and “Yalla Erhal Ya Bashar” by “Ibrahim Qashoush”) this article critically as- sesses the ways in which song has come to serve as a force for instigating so- cio-political and cultural change in the contemporary Arab World, particular- ly in Tunisia, Egypt, and Syria. The appeal and efficacy of these songs of the “Arab Spring,” as well as their characterization as “revolutionary,” are under- stood in aesthetic and technological terms. Hence, the article untangles a complex of interconnected, musically-related themes and issues at the core of the discourse on the recent uprisings; namely, those of self-expression and the power of the Arab youth “voice,” those of transitional dissemination via social media and information and communication technology, and those of documentation and representation through music, specifically through the genre of rap. Analysis of the songs and the themes surrounding them demon- strates substantive advancements in contemporary Arab musical, social, and political life, but also exposes serious shortcomings, naïve misconceptions, and willful exaggerations. Keywords: Arab Spring, Revolutionary Song Aesthetics, Social Media, Cul- tural Politics Prelude: On “Revolutions” The word “revolution” is a peculiar one. In a literal sense, it means a turn- ing back on oneself, implying a return or a recurrence, or perhaps even a 1 The Chinese University of Hong Kong V i r a l V o i c e s : Revolutionary Song… ▪ 33 repetition.
    [Show full text]