Tribal narrative in the Syrian political universe

Abstract

The following article deals with the problem of formation and functioning of tribal narratives in the political universe of Syria. The author shows how tribe narrative is structured in the form of epic narration within the framework of which different political events acquire a special logic and vested with new connotations. The tribe which comprehends political relations through the prism of this narrative, structures its communication with forces external relative to it, the state included, in a special way. The accomplished research is based both on open sources and on materials of the author’s interviews with the representatives of Hsana tribe, which he took in summer and autumn 2021. The results of the research, as it seems, could be useful for studying the general problems of tribalism and relations of tribes and state in the Middle East.