Colonial Corporatism in the French Mandated States: Labor, Capital, the Mandatory Power, and the 1935 Syrian Law of Associations
The “social question” in Syria during the French Mandate (1920-1946) was by and large subordinated to the “national question”. However, one stratum of Syrian society, the artisanal-laboring segment, did press for recognition of its rights during the 1920s and 1930s. Artisans and factory workers bega...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Université de Provence
2005-01-01
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| Series: | Revue des Mondes Musulmans et de la Méditerranée |
| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/remmm/2724 |
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| Summary: | The “social question” in Syria during the French Mandate (1920-1946) was by and large subordinated to the “national question”. However, one stratum of Syrian society, the artisanal-laboring segment, did press for recognition of its rights during the 1920s and 1930s. Artisans and factory workers began to organize themselves and to agitate for amelioration of their situation. Labor militancy peaked in the early 1930s with a series of strikes, coinciding with a major political and economic crisis in the Levant states that threatened to disrupt social order and challenged the maintenance of French authority. In consequence the Mandatory Power attempted to channel artisanal/working class grievances through officially controlled “professional associations”. The Mandatory’s efforts were only a partial success. Although Syrian elites largely accepted the corporatist bargain offered by the French, artisans and workers continued their quest for autonomy. In analyzing the motivations, impact, and legacy of Mandatory social legislation, it is suggested that a model of “colonial corporatism” is a useful way to approach this and similar situations. |
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| ISSN: | 0997-1327 2105-2271 |