Syria and the French Mandate
The Politics of Arab Nationalism, 1920-1945

Coming shortly after the author's book on Damascus politics in the 1860-1920 period, this massive study establishes Khoury as a leading student of Syrian history. Extensive archival research, interviews with aged participants, and virtually every secondary source bearing on his subject went into the book. Unfortunately, the result is ponderous (the narrative goes on for dozens of pages without any apparent destination) and is marred by two deep flaws. First, a quiet yet dogmatic Marxism insinuates itself in Khoury's account. Worn theories of imperialist exploitation, capitalist contradictions, and even class conflict drive the analysis. Second, Khoury is so interested in the evolution of Pan-Arab nationalism (as the sub-title indicates) that he neglects and distorts the other major political movement of the era, Pan-Syrian nationalism. Both problems affect the book's interpretations and lead to some very learned but profoundly skewed conclusions. If the specialist must acquaint himself with the new information Khoury provides, the general reader should stick to Stephen H. Longrigg's reliable 1958 study, Syria and Lebanon under French Mandate.