MACMILLAN Syria: Borders, Boundaries, and the State (Mobility & Politics)

This book explores the history of Syria’s borders and boundaries, from their creation (1920) until the civil war (2011) and their contestation by the Islamic State or the Kurdish movement. The volume’s main objective is to reconsider the “artificial” character of the Syrian territory and to reveal the processes by which its borders were shaped and eventually internalized by the country’s main actors. Based on extensive archival research, the book first documents the creation and stabilization of Syrian borders before and during the mandates period (nineteenth century to 1946), studying Ottoman and French territorialization strategies but also emphasizing the key role of the borderlands in this process. In turn, it investigates the perceptual boundaries resulting from the conflict, and how they materialized in space. Lastly, it explores the geographical and political imaginaries of non-state actors (PYD, ISIS) that emerged from the war.    Review “This book is not only for specialist readers with a specific academic interest; it may also give general readers interested in Syria a valuable overview of some of the complexities of Syrian border issues. … It is perhaps the first book to provide a truly knowledgeable overview of the subject, both historically and at the present time. … this book provides a much-needed overview of Syrian border issues, and is recommended reading for anyone interested in the topic.” (Nerouz Satik, European Review of International Studies ERIS, Vol. 8 (2), 2021) From the Back Cover This book explores the history of Syria’s borders and boundaries, from their creation (1920) until the civil war (2011) and their contestation by the Islamic State or the Kurdish movement. The volume’s main objective is to reconsider the “artificial” character of the Syrian territory and to reveal the processes by which its borders were shaped and eventually internalized by the country’s main actors. Based on extensive archival research, the book first documents the creation and stabilization of Syrian borders before and during the mandates period (nineteenth century to 1946), studying Ottoman and French territorialization strategies but also emphasizing the key role of the borderlands in this process. In turn, it investigates the perceptual boundaries resulting from the conflict, and how they materialized in space. Lastly, it explores the geographical and political imaginaries of non-state actors (PYD, ISIS) that emerged from the war.    Matthieu Cimino is a Fellow at the Paris Institute for Advanced Studies (IAS) and a Teacher at Sciences Po and La Sorbonne, France. Formerly, he was a Marie-Skɫodowska Curie researcher at the University of Oxford (Oriental Studies, St Antony’s College, 2016-2018), UK, and an associate researcher at the Moshe Dayan Center, Israel.  About the Author Matthieu Cimino is a Fellow at the Paris Institute for Advanced Studies (IAS) and a Teacher at Sciences Po and La Sorbonne, France. Formerly, he was a Marie-Skɫodowska Curie researcher at the University of Oxford (Oriental Studies, St Antony’s College, 2016-2018), UK, and an associate researcher at the Moshe Dayan Center, Israel.