French rule over Syria and Lebanon was premised on a vision of a special French protectorate established through centuries of cultural activity: archaeological,

Why did Syrian political life continue to be dominated by a particular urban elite even after the dramatic changes following the end of four hundred years of Ot

From the John Holmes Library collection.

First, a colonial welfare state emerged by World War II that recognized social rights of citizens to health, education, and labor protection.

The increasingly vibrant political culture emerging in Lebanon and Syria in the 1930s and early 1940s is key to the understanding of local approaches towards th