Ethnography of the Political Behaviour of Idlib's Agricultural Boundaries in the 2011 Uprising

Abstract

This paper studies the interaction of the local agricultural community on boundaries of the Idlib Governorate, Syria, with the protest movement during the 2011 uprising. The research is based on Raymond Williams' concept of the local community, which proposes that the local community cannot be severed from its past during its internal and external interactions. The study also focuses on the economic, political and social dimensions of understanding the behaviour of local communities in Idlib governorate in such contexts. The backbone of social life in the agricultural regions of Idlib is formed from two fundamental elements: political prestige and land ownership. The paper argues that these two elements, with their normative and social dimensions and complex contextual stakes, played a role in stimulating mobilization for, opposition to, or apathy towards the uprising.