Thumbnail Image
Item

Political Eruption: How Daraa Became the Epicenter of Revolution

Gunaydin, Emre
Citations
Altmetric:
Genre
Research project
Date
2023-05-05
Advisor
Committee member
Group
Department
Political Science
Subject
Darʻā (Syria)
 Syria--Politics and government
Permanent link to this record
https://scholarshare.temple.edu/handle/20.500.12613/11551
Collections
Undergraduate Works
Show all metadata
Files
Thumbnail Image
Gunaydin-ResearchProject-2023.pdf
Adobe PDF, 282.21 KB
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
DOI
https://doi.org/10.34944/v0vp-0q25
Abstract
There is a large body of scholarly work that focuses on revolutions, and particularly on revolutions in the Middle East. This paper differentiates itself from others by focusing on the case study of Daraa in Southern Syria around 2011. This paper utilizes secondary source, primary source (interviews) research as well as theoretical works in political science related to examining the mechanics of protests, revolts, and revolutions. Daraa can be considered an exceptional case in Syria as it is frequently cited as the beginning of the Syrian revolution and subsequent civil war. Daraa has a number of underlying factors that made it a prime candidate for this task, such as demographic history, climate factors, and its status as a ‘less prominent’ city in comparison to Aleppo, Homs, or Damascus where early peaceful protests were brutally repressed by the regime. Daraa also had the right conditions in terms of repression, with there being enough government violence to stoke the flames of more radical protest, but not strong enough to completely quash the movement completely. Its status as a Sunni Arab city allowed it to become memorialized and lionized by the wider Syrian public, a majority Sunni Arab country ruled by a repressive Alawite dictatorship under the Assads. This research fulfills a gap in the literature by not examining the revolution itself, but looking at preceding factors and contingencies that led to Daraa becoming the social “center” of the Syrian revolution. It carries wider implications about when and where public unrest shifts from just protest into revolutionary activity.
Description
Citation
Gunaydin, Emre. "Political Eruption: How Daraa Became the Epicenter of Revolution." https://doi.org/10.34944/v0vp-0q25, Temple University Libraries, 2023.
Citation to related work
Has part
ADA compliance
For Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accommodation, including help with reading this content, please contact scholarshare@temple.edu
Embedded videos
License
All Rights Reserved