Description
Book SynopsisThis book uses a study of Syria under the French mandate to show what historical developments led people to start describing themselves and others as 'minorities'.
Trade ReviewWe often think that modern nation-states suppress other collective identities identities, but this thought-provoking book turns that assumption on its head, showing how fluid regional and religious identities were constituted as "minorities" through the very process of state-building. Scholars interested in the relationship between collective mobilization and political institutions will want to read this book. -- Susan Pedersen, Professor of History, Columbia University We often think that modern nation-states suppress other collective identities identities, but this thought-provoking book turns that assumption on its head, showing how fluid regional and religious identities were constituted as "minorities" through the very process of state-building. Scholars interested in the relationship between collective mobilization and political institutions will want to read this book.
Table of ContentsMap 1. Syria c.1936; Map 2. The Far Northeast of Syria in the 1930s; Outline Chronology of the French Mandate, 1919-39; Acknowledgements; Introduction; Part I; 1. Minorities, Majorities and the Nation-state; 2. 'Minorities' and the French Mandate; Part II; 3. Separatism and Autonomism; 4. The border and the Kurds; Part III; 5. The Franco-Syrian Treaty and the Definition of 'Minorities'; 6. Personal Status Law Reform; Conclusion: Minorities, Majorities and the Writing of History; Select Bibliography; Index.
