Charities and Politics in Bashar al-Asad’s SyriaThe Unravelling of the Old Social Contract
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About this book
Studies the reconfiguration of the Syrian regime through the revival of charities under al-Asad (2000–2010)
- Discusses the reconfiguration of the Syrian regime and the state under the presidency of Bashar al-Asad from a political and sociological perspective
- Provides key elements to understand the outburst of the Syrian uprising
- Fills important gaps on the literature on Syria and on charitable work in the MENA region
- Offers a major contribution to the intense scholarly debates on authoritarianism, civil societies, social welfare provision and state reforms in the MENA region
Charities and Politics in Bashar al-Asad’s Syria analyses the renewal and revival of the role of Syrian charities during Bashar al-Asad’s first 10 years in power (2000-2010) in order to understand the political engineering deployed by the Syrian regime in the decade prior to the uprising. Based on extensive ethnographic fieldwork undertaken between 2007 and 2010, as well as on more than 50 interviews and other secondary sources, this book is the first comprehensive study of the country’s poorly known sector of associations and charitable organisations at the beginning of the 21st century.
It provides first‐hand accounts of crucial issues that did not receive scholarly attention before the uprising, such as the shift in state–society relations, the opening of the civic arena, the partial outsourcing of welfare provision and social responsibilities and, eventually, the unravelling of the old social contract, which the protest movement dramatically brought to the forefront in 2011. By carrying out a unique analysis of the management of civil society by state institutions and the First Lady’s government-operated NGOs, it also provides keys to understanding both the resilience of Bashar al-Asad’s authoritarian regime in the 2000s and the simultaneous weakening of its credibility amongst the population.
Reviews
This study provides a powerful and much-needed correction to those studying the Syrian uprising and war with little appreciation of the pre-2011 era. Laura Ruiz de Elvira is the person to do it as her research on the country encompasses nearly two decades. Charities and Politics in Bashar al-Asad's Syria presents a narrative that is illuminating, heartbreaking and hopeful all at once.
Table of contents
List of Figures
Acknowledgements
Note on Transliteration
List of Abbreviations
Introduction: Syrian Charities as a Scientific Object
1. Syrian Charities in the Twentieth Century
2. Civil Society and Charitities in Bashar al-Asad’s Era
3. Collective Action and Funding Strategies of Syrian Charities
4. Getting Committed in Syrian Charitable Associations
5. Local Strategies through a Hirschmanian Lens
6. Participation and Outsourcing: A New Grammar of Public Action in Syria
7. The State as Conceiver, Legislator and Manager
8. The Controlling, Disciplining and Repressive State
Conclusion: The Syrian Uprising or the Unravelling of the Social Contract
Appendix 1 Map of the Population of the Main Syrian Cities
Appendix 2 Summary Table of the Syrian Associations Visited
Appendix 3 Signs and Banners from Syrian Charities
Appendix 4 Brochures from Syrian Charities
Appendix 5 Products of Syrian Charities
Appendix 6 Extracts from the English Version of the Tenth Five-Year Plan of the Syrian Arab Republic (Chapter 6, Section 4)
Appendix 7 Reports and Balance Sheets from Syrian Charities
Appendix 8 Table of Public Finances (2003–9)
Appendix 9 Syrian Press
References
Index