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

Lisa Wedeen

ISBN 10: 0226877884 / ISBN 13: 9780226877884

Editore: University of Chicago Press, 1999

Former library book; Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less. Codice articolo G0226877884I3N10

Riassunto:

In Syria, the image of President Hafiz al-Asad is everywhere. In newspapers, on television, and during orchestrated spectacles Asad is praised as the "father," the "gallant knight," even the country's "premier pharmacist." Yet most Syrians, including those who create the official rhetoric, do not believe its claims. Why would a regime spend scarce resources on a cult whose content is patently spurious?

Wedeen concludes that Asad's cult acts as a disciplinary device, generating a politics of public dissimulation in which citizens act as if they revered their leader. By inundating daily life with tired symbolism, the regime exercises a subtle, yet effective form of power. The cult works to enforce obedience, induce complicity, isolate Syrians from one another, and set guidelines for public speech and behavior. Wedeen's ethnographic research demonstrates how Syrians recognize the disciplinary aspects of the cult and seek to undermine them. Provocative and original, Ambiguities of Domination is a significant contribution to comparative politics, political theory, and cultural studies.

Informazioni sull'autore:

Lisa Wedeen is professor in and chair of the Department of Political Science at the University of Chicago and the author ofPeripheral Visions: Publics, Power, and Performance in Yemen.

Dati bibliografici

Titolo: Ambiguities of Domination: Politics, ...
Casa editrice: University of Chicago Press
Data di pubblicazione: 1999
Legatura: Paperback
Condizione: Good
Condizione sovraccoperta: No Jacket