THE MAKING OF A LEFTIST MILIEU: ANTI-COLONIALISM, ANTI-FASCISM, AND THE POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT OF INTELLECTUALS IN MANDATE LEBANON, 1920- 1948. A dissertation presented By Sana Tannoury Karam to The Department of History In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy In the field of History Northeastern University Boston, Massachusetts December 2017 1 THE MAKING OF A LEFTIST MILIEU: ANTI-COLONIALISM, ANTI-FASCISM, AND THE POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT OF INTELLECTUALS IN MANDATE LEBANON, 1920- 1948. A dissertation presented By Sana Tannoury Karam ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History in the College of Social Sciences and Humanities of Northeastern University December 2017 2 This dissertation is an intellectual and cultural history of an invisible generation of leftists that were active in Lebanon, and more generally in the Levant, between the years 1920 and 1948. It chronicles the foundation and development of this intellectual milieu within the political Left, and how intellectuals interpreted leftist principles and struggled to maintain a fluid, ideologically non-rigid space, in which they incorporated an array of ideas and affinities, and formulated their own distinct worldviews. More broadly, this study is concerned with how intellectuals in the post-World War One period engaged with the political sphere and negotiated their presence within new structures of power. It explains the social, political, as well as personal contexts that prompted intellectuals embrace certain ideas. Using periodicals, personal papers, memoirs, and collections of primary material produced by this milieu, this dissertation argues that leftist intellectuals pushed to politicize the role and figure of the ‘intellectual’. Moreover, by blurring ideological and political boundaries, these leftists redefined, even if briefly, the terms of inclusion into their local political sphere and global movements. This dissertation inserts Arab leftist intellectuals and activists into the global moment of the interwar period and the context of World War Two, examining their links with the League Against Imperialism and the Spanish Civil War, their opposition to the fascist powers threatening the world before and during the Second World War, and their overlap with the women’s movement. 3 AKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the various individuals who have supported me throughout the journey of writing this dissertation. My committee has been a constant source of inspiration and support throughout this process. First and foremost, I want to thank Ilham Khuri-Makdisi, for being an exemplary and fabulous mentor, and for constantly pushing me beyond what I thought were my limits. She taught me to challenge myself intellectually, and reminded me amidst moments of despair and struggle why this work is important and why I love it so much. I am immensely grateful to Samer Frangie for encouraging this once political science graduate student to pursue her passion for history, and for always believing in me often (too often) when I doubted myself. I want to thank Philip Khoury for his dedication to the field of Middle East History and to young scholars, for his humility, and for his exemplary ethics and scholarship. I would also like to thank Heather Streets-Salter for always providing solutions to any problem, for being so positive and intellectually stimulating, and for the dedication to World History that she instills in her students. The History Department at Northeastern University has been a wonderful intellectual home the past few years, and I would like to thank the students, faculty, and staff – particularly Bonita Knipfer and Kirsten Bilas – for making this department what it is. A substantial part of this dissertation was written during my fellowship year at the Humanities Center at Northeastern University in 2016-2017. I therefore want to thank the Humanities Center and all the fellows who have read and commented on chapters of this dissertation, as well as provided moral support amidst dark times in the history of this country. My research has been made possible through the use of several libraries and archives. I would like to thank the staff at the Jafet Memorial Library at the American University of Beirut, 4 the Centre des Archives Nationales in Beirut, Widener Library and particularly the Philips Reading Room at Harvard University, the British National Archives at KEW, and the U.S. National Archives in Maryland. I would like to thank the Gillis Family Fund in World History and the New England Regional World History Association (NERWHA) for funding research and travel for this dissertation. While writing this dissertation, several scholars, teachers, and friends have offered support and advice. I especially want to thank Michele Louro, Ziad Abu-Rish, Fawwaz Traboulsi, Timothy Brown, Naghmeh Sohrabi, Kate Luongo, Louis Walker, and Salim Tamari (whose article on Najati Siqdi attracted me towards this topic in the first place). I also want to thank the Arab-Russian Workshop Group at Boston University for helping me think of geography and the longevity of the relationship between Russia and the Arab world. I especially want to thank Malakeh Khoury, not only for sharing books and material on her father, but also for being kind and knowledgeable, and for making me feel as if I had actually met Ra’if Khuri in person. A special thank you goes to Jacqueline Ibrahim, for sharing Imili Faris Ibrahim’s personal papers, and for her love for her late mother-in-law. I want to thank Maroun Yazbik, for opening his father’s home for me and sharing his papers and library, and I am grateful to Claire and Christiane Abou Adal who made that meeting possible. I would also like to thank the late George Batal, for sharing knowledge and precious stories with me. I have been very fortunate to be part of a writing group that my friend and colleague Elizabeth Lehr has convened throughout the hardest months of this journey. I want to thank Regina Kazyulina, Elizabeth Lehr, and Akin Sefer, who have all read multiple versions of my chapters, provided comments and tremendous support. A special thank you to Elizabeth for 5 always listening and for her exemplary perseverance. I would also like to thank Olivier Schouteden for being a wonderful officemate and friend. To our family in Boston, my dear friends Regina Kazyulina, Bengü Kurtege-Sefer, Akin Sefer, Kirill Shubin, and little Nedim, thank you for all the laughs, dinners, support, and love. I am grateful for having had Akin as my dissertation ‘brother’. I want to thank Regina for the walks in our park and the long conversations, and thank her and Kirill for always taking me outside my comfort zone: camping, bears and all. A big thank you is due to my dear family in Beirut and beyond. To my father Hanna, thank you for teaching me that ideas matter, and that faith can be a powerful force in changing the course of history. To my mother Sawsan, thank you for teaching me to love words and to read and appreciate Arabic literature. I am immensely grateful to my in-laws, Graziella and Ghassan, and to my parents, for being our refuge during my research trips, and for providing me with support and comfort throughout this journey. I would like to thank my sister Hiba and my brother-in-law Tarek for their support, and for making me realize that debate and intellectual differences are an essential part of respect and growth. I am immensely grateful to my sister Lama, for her encouragement both in Beirut and across continents, for forcing me out of Jafet for breaks, and for always making me laugh. She has been my Sam, reminding me of the Shire in the darkest moments of this journey. Finally, words cannot express the gratitude I have for my husband, Jeffrey. Thank you for being my home and my rock, for being my first and last reader, and for your unfailing love. Without you none of this would have been possible. You are my companion and one true comrade, rafīq al-darb, and to you I dedicate this dissertation. 6 DEDICATION PAGE Ilā rafīq al-darb, Jeffrey 7 NOTE ON TRANSLITERATION AND TRANSLATION When transliterating from Arabic, I have used the standard system of the International Journal of Middle East Studies (IJMES). The initial hamza is always dropped; the tā’ marbūta is rendered a (not ah), and in iḍāfa it is rendered at; al- is retained when Arabic names are shortened. Personal names, names of political parties, names of newspapers and journals, and titles of books and articles are spelled according to the IJMES transliteration system and without diacritics. Italics are used for titles of books and journals only, not for proper names or names of political parties and organizations. All translations are my own unless indicated otherwise. I have chosen to often include a transliteration of a specific translated word when the Arabic is important to note for the sake of analysis. 8 TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract 2 Acknowledgments 4 Dedication Page 7 Notes on Transliteration and Translation 8 Table of Contents 9 Chapters Introduction 10 Chapter 1 – The ‘East’ Has Awoken from Its Idleness: Anti-Colonialism, Capitalism, 32 and the Political Organization of the Left in Post-World War I Lebanon, 1922-1928 Chapter 2 – Between the Ivory Tower and the Marketplace: The Political Engagement 92 of Intellectuals and the Boundaries of the Public Sphere Chapter 3 – This War is Our War: Anti-Fascism, Democracy, and the Friendship 132 of the Soviet Union Chapter 4 – Leftist Feminists: Demanding Political Rights, Challenging Democratic 176 Promises, and Feminizing the Public Sphere Conclusion 234 Appendix 238 Bibliography 243 9 INTRODUCTION This dissertation is an intellectual and cultural history of an invisible generation of leftists who were active in Lebanon, and more generally in the Levant, between the years 1920 and 1948.