Good Rebel Governance
Revolutionary Politics and Western Intervention in Syria

Through fieldwork centering Syrian voices, this book explores wartime governing authority and the possibilities and limits of Western intervention therein.

Dipali Mukhopadhyay (Author), Kimberly Howe (Author)

9781108478540, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 15 June 2023

185 pages
23.5 x 15.8 x 1.9 cm, 0.49 kg

'With theoretical sophistication and empirical richness, Mukhopadyay and Howe bring to life a crucial development in the Syrian war: the creation of local councils in rebel-controlled territory. This captivating account demonstrates how insurgent rule is not only shaped by coercive capacities and material resources, but also mediated by varied forms of connection between insurgent rulers and local communities. Brimming with the extraordinary voices of civilians who demanded and worked for better politics, it is required reading for students of rebel governance, foreign intervention, and Syria.' Wendy Pearlman, Northwestern University

When a revolutionary uprising erupted in Syria during the spring of 2011, pockets of local resistance and the nascent institutions therein transformed into clusters of rudimentary participatory politics and service delivery. Despite the collective fatigue induced by the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the United States and its allies embarked on an effort to encourage liberal, democratic politics amid the Syrian conflict. As a result, the project of 'good rebel governance' became the latest attempt at Western democracy promotion. This book moves the scholarship on insurgent rule forward by considering how governing authority arises and evolves during violent conflict, and whether particular institutions of insurgent rule can be cultivated through foreign intervention. In so doing, the book theorizes not only about the nature of authoritative rebel governance but also tests the long-standing precepts that have undergirded Western promotion of democracy abroad.

1. Introduction
2. The good governance bazaar
3. Reconceptualizing rebel governance
4. Studying Syria 'From the Verandah'
5. Raqqa's caliphal social contract
6. Saraqeb's limited access order
7. Darayya's fervent enclave
8. Aleppo city's republican guild
9. The Syrian interim government as 'Floating' counter-state
10. Revolutionary possibilities and international imaginings.

Subject Areas: Constitution: government & the state [JPHC]