Alawite Statehood in the Twentieth Century: challenges and historical contexts

Despite their relatively small population and historically fraught relations with their predominantly Sunni neighbours, the Alawites (or Nusayrites), an esoteric sect of Shia Islam, have played a significant role in Syria’s contemporary history. The issues surrounding the establishment of Alawite statehood and the interaction of this sectarian group with both the Mandate authorities and the Syrian political parties and movements that emerged during the French administration remain underexplored in Russian historiography. This study aims to address this gap. The primary objectives of the research are to analyse the changes in the political and legal status of the Alawite minority between 1920 and 1936, and to identify the role of the Alawites in the development of the Arab national-liberation movement and in the activities of Syrian political parties, which were centred on both pan-Arab and Syrian nationalist ideologies. A detailed analysis of sources, including legislative acts of the French administration, political proclamations, and correspondence from Alawite political leaders, leads to the conclusion that the further development of Alawite statehood in the 1930s was untenable for a number of objective reasons. During this period, tribal identity predominated among the Alawites, and the authority of local sheikhs lacked an institutional foundation. Moreover, the growing influence of Arab linguistic nationalism and the official recognition of the Alawites as Muslims by both Sunni and Shia clerics facilitated the political integration of the Alawite territory of Jabal al-Ansar into the Syrian Republic.