Ambiguities of Domination: Politics, Rhetoric, and Symbols in

Description Specifications
Description
Ambiguities of Domination: Politics, Rhetoric, and Symbols in Contemporary Syria

Treating rhetoric and symbols as central rather than peripheral to politics, Lisa Wedeenâ€™s groundbreaking book offers a compelling counterargument to those who insist that politics is primarily about material interests and the groups advocating for them. During the thirty-year rule of President Hafiz al-Asadâ€™s regime, his image was everywhere. In newspapers, on television, and during orchestrated spectacles. Asad was praised as the â€œfather,â€ the â€œgallant knight,â€ even the countryâ€™s â€œpremier pharmacist.â€ Yet most Syrians, including those who create the official rhetoric, did not believe its claims. Why would a regime spend scarce resources on a personality cult whose content is patently spurious?

Wedeen shows how such flagrantly fictitious claims were able to produce a politics of public dissimulation in which citizens acted as if they revered the leader. By inundating daily life with tired symbolism, the regime exercised a subtle, yet effective form of power. The cult worked to enforce obedience, induce complicity, isolate Syrians from one another, and set guidelines for public speech and behavior. Wedeenâ€˜s ethnographic research demonstrates how Syrians recognized the disciplinary aspects of the cult and sought to undermine them. In a new preface, Wedeen discusses the uprising against the Syrian regime that began in 2011 and questions the usefulness of the concept of legitimacy in trying to analyze and understand authoritarian regimes.
Specifications
Country USA
Brand University of Chicago Press
Manufacturer University of Chicago Press
Binding Paperback
ItemPartNumber Illustrated
ReleaseDate 2015-09-09
UnitCount 1
Format Illustrated
EANs 9780226333373

Country	USA
Brand	University of Chicago Press
Manufacturer	University of Chicago Press
Binding	Paperback
ItemPartNumber	Illustrated
ReleaseDate	2015-09-09
UnitCount	1
Format	Illustrated
EANs	9780226333373

Ambiguities of Domination: Politics, Rhetoric, and Symbols in Contemporary Syria

You might also like...