Ideology, Media and Conflict in Political Discourse and Its Translation During the Arab Spring: Syria as a Case Study School of Languages, Cultures and Societies University of Leeds, Leeds, UK Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Husam Haj Omar Supervised by Professor James Dickins Co-Supervised by Professor Jeremy Munday June 2016 1 DECLARATION AND STATEMENT OF COPYRIGHT The candidate confirms that the work submitted is his own and that appropriate credit has been given where reference has been made to the work of others. This copy has been supplied on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. © 2016 The University of Leeds and Husam Haj Omar The right of Husam Haj Omar to be identified as Author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. 2 DEDICATION To the martyrs of the Syrian Revolution; to the thousands of tortured detainees; to the millions of displaced families and refugees, know that your sacrifices have not been in vain. To the martyrs of the Arab Spring, you will always be remembered. To my father, and my mother, thank you for everything. 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Praise is due to almighty Allah whose compassion and mercifulness has allowed me to complete this Ph.D. thesis. I offer my sincerest gratitude to my supervisor, Professor James Dickins, who has supported me throughout my thesis with his patience and knowledge whilst allowing me the room to work in my own way. He has helped me through extremely difficult times over the course of the analysis and the writing of the thesis and for that I sincerely thank him for his confidence in me. I attribute the level of my Ph.D. degree to his encouragement and effort and without him this thesis, too, would not have been completed or written. One simply could not wish for a better or friendlier supervisor. I would also like to thank my co-supervisor Professor Jeremy Munday. The door to his office was always open whenever I ran into a trouble spot or had a question about my research or writing. He consistently allowed this thesis to be my own work, but steered me in the right the direction especially in the first stages of the writing process. I would additionally like to thank Dr. Sameh F. Hanna for his advice in the data analysis process that has led to this document. His knowledge and understanding of the subject has allowed me to fully express the concepts behind this research. I am thankful to Karen Priestley, Education Service Officer, who has offered her kind support and guidance throughout the Ph.D. journey. She has greatly facilitated all administrative work related to this research. I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to my parents, Jihad and Baraeh, my sisters, Lama and Nada, and my brother Muhammad Nour without whose love, support and understanding I could never have completed this doctoral degree. I owe my deepest gratitude and love to them for their dedication and the many years of support during my undergraduate and postgraduate studies that provided the foundation for this work. My parents made me the person I am now. To them I will always be in debt. Last but not the least, my words of gratitude go to my cousin Adnan Haj Omar, and dear friends, Momen Kanadil, Maher Turifi, Abdullah al-Anezi, Sara Tahboub, Dania Issa and the rest of my friends, who have supported me during my Ph.D. studies, and encouraged me to strive towards my goal. I would like to thank Susan Barber and her lovely family who have been very kind to me during my stay and studies in the UK. Without the help of the above and many others whom I cannot mention in one page, the writing of this thesis would not have been possible. 4 ABSTRACT Translation, although often invisible in the field of politics, is actually an integral part of political activity. Which texts get translated, from and into which languages is itself already a political decision. (Schäffner and Bassnett, 2010: 13) Translation has recently shifted its focus from the notions of originality and equivalence to those of power and patronage. This has proven essential, especially in relation to the translation of political discourse. Samuel Butler maintains that every person’s production, whether literature, music, pictures, architecture, or anything else, is a portrait of themselves. Translation is no exception. The translator’s role is no longer perceived as a transparent means of communication that is expected to relay the exact message of the original producer of the discourse. This thesis will view translation as a rewriting of the original text, recognising the translator as an author who modifies and changes the ST according to his or her ideology, political stand, or general interests. The translator is also foremost a reader who brings his or her own judgments, imposing them upon the text, perhaps reshaping the entire political discourse. Media outlets employ certain strategies and techniques to superimpose the media outlet’s agenda and objectives onto translations, promoting certain ideological convictions and political views. This thesis examines the relationship between a number of issues in relation to ideology, media, political discourse, language, and translation. Illustrative examples are extracted from the political discourse communicated during the Arab Spring. It uses Critical Discourse Analysis and narrative theory as a theoretical framework. It also aims to detect political tools and strategies often used in political discourse production and media discourse to analyse the data circulated on the Arab Spring. It seeks to look for the ideological influence of both translator and patronage on the outcome of the translation process. The data used for analysis in this thesis is taken from the political discourse communicated during the Arab Spring, in particular the Syrian revolution. The data corpus consists of translated interviews, political articles, and political speeches. Examples of revolutionary discourse produced by protesters are also included, alongside their translations. This is a qualitative study that lists and analyses representative samples of the translated political discourse, drawing conclusions and findings conclusions that apply to most of the data found in the context of the Arab Spring. 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION AND STATEMENT OF COPYRIGHT ..................................................... 2 DEDICATION ......................................................................................................................... 3 ABSTRACT............................................................................................................................. 5 LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................... 10 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. 13 A Background to the Study ................................................................................................ 13 Research Scope and Statement of the Problem .................................................................. 15 Research Questions ............................................................................................................ 16 Significance of the Research .............................................................................................. 17 Methodology and Data ....................................................................................................... 17 Thesis Structure ................................................................................................................. 19 Significance of the Structure .............................................................................................. 21 CHAPTER ONE: THE STORY OF THE ARAB SPRING .................................................. 24 1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 24 1.2 Democracy in the Arab World before the Arab Spring ......................................... 25 1.2.1 Democracy in Arab Thought .......................................................................... 25 1.2.2 Reasons for the Absence of Democracy in the Arab World .......................... 27 1.2.3 Arab Civil Society and Democratisation........................................................ 28 1.2.4 The Oppressive State and Human Rights in the Arab World ........................ 31 1.2.5 State and Political Opposition in the Arab World .......................................... 32 1.2.6 Full versus Liberalised Autocracy ................................................................. 34 1.2.7 Democratisation and the Arab-Israeli Conflict .............................................. 36 1.2.8 Islam, Islamism, and Democracy ................................................................... 36 1.3 Towards an Arab Spring ........................................................................................ 40 1.3.1 Lack of Political Reform ................................................................................ 40 1.3.2 Socio-Economic Decline ................................................................................ 42 1.3.3 The Media Revolution ................................................................................... 43 1.4 The People Demands