Rebel Populism: Revolution and loss among Syrian labourers in Beirut

234 Pages·2022·17.027 MB·English

by  Philip Proudfoot

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Rebel populism

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Rebel populism

Revolution and loss among Syrian

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e labourers in Beirut
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pr Philip Proudfoot

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Manchester University Press
Copyright © Philip Proudfoot 2022
The right of Philip Proudfoot to be identified as the author of
this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Published by Manchester University Press
Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL
www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk
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ct British Library Cataloguing- in- Publication Data
e A catalogue record for this book is available from the British
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o
Library
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ht ISBN 978 1 5261 5810 9 hardback
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yrint First published 2022
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om
Cu The publisher has no responsibility for the persistence or
c accuracy of URLs for any external or third- party internet
© o
d websites referred to in this book, and does not guarantee
e s that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate
vhi or appropriate.
hi t
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et Cover credit: Philip Proudfoot
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Typeset by Newgen Publishing UK
For
My Mum, Dad, and Granda

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Contents

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ro Preface page viii
p Acknowledgements xii
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rint Introduction: revolution and loss 1
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opme 1 Cynicism, socialism, and labour migration 38
Cu 2 Rebel populism and rupture 60
© oc 3 Art, uprising, and smartphones 90
ve his d 45 RMeabseclu- mlinairttyy rins (a) crisis 111357
hi t 6 Conspiracy, sectarianism, and the failure of the uprising 173
erte Conclusions: it’s your turn, doctor 198
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hetri Index 206
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Preface

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o This book is a study of revolutionary politics among male Syrian migrant
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p workers in Beirut at a time of uprising, war, and refugee crisis. It is based

t
h on extended periods of fieldwork carried out from 2012 to 2017. The pur-
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rint pose of this book is to fill a rather startling gap in ethnographic work on
y
pe the Arab Spring. Namely, the lack of long- term ethnographic studies into
om
the development of oppositional political positions among hitherto “non-
Cu
c political” people.
© o
d In other words, Syrian workers are not professional civil society activists,
e s radical Islamists, or secular-l iberal organisers. Instead, they are precarious,
vhi
hi t marginalised, and “low- skilled” workers. While the demands of making a
erte living disconnected these men from frontline revolutionary activity, their
stbu circumstances nonetheless reflected those who formed the backbone of the
hetri Syrian opposition more generally. All those in this book expressed support
cs
ndi for what they called “the revolution” [al- thawra] and its intention of over-
maor throwing “the regime” [al- niẓām].
m y Their political ideas were not articulated through any particular ideo-
p logical project, nor were they supporters of any singular opposition outfit.
oo
frc Instead, their commitment to the revolution was expressed through an anti-
d o elitist language – which I call “rebel populism” – that spoke of an unbridge-
et
dal able divide between “the people” and “the regime.”
a
og Political scientists and journalists have now done much to elaborate on
e
wnl ill the general course of the Syrian uprising, its composition, mobilisation tac-
s tics, and its descent into a civil and proxy war. However, what remains com-
DoIt i paratively unexamined are the perspectives of Syrians themselves.1 To try
to fill that gap, I build all this book’s observations and argumentation from
“the bottom up,” seeking to describe, in the process, how it was that the
uprising structured migrant workers’ lives in Lebanon and why the promise
of the revolution so enthralled them. This has led me to examine a vast array
of related topics, including labour migration, market liberalisation, popu-
list politics, revolutionary art and images, new communication technology,
patriarchy, and conspiracy theory.