Beyond the Border : Syrian Policies towards Territories Lost

Sammanfattning: This study furthers our understanding of an often ignored but important and central part of modern politics; the dynamic relationship between territory and state. The republic of Syria, carved out of a much larger territory during the post World War I re-mapping of the Middle East, constitutes the empirical focus. The study analyzes Syrian policies towards three territories lost; Lebanon, Hatay and the Golan Heights. Through the examination of Syrian policies towards the three areas from the time of their loss until the end of 2010, the study argues that while special relations to these three cases are signaled through words or deeds or both, Syria clearly has different views of and ambitions for them. Although Syria, during the period under study, repeatedly disrespected the sovereignty of Lebanon it does not strive to incorporate it into Syria. The same goes for Hatay, despite the fact that Syrian maps depict it as part of Syria. The Golan Heights, on the other hand, is considered a necessary part of the Syrian national territory and therefore has to be returned to Syria. The study seeks to understand why certain territories lost remain on the agenda as something that has to be returned while the loss of others are possible to come to terms with. For this purpose, a theoretical and methodological framework for analyzing change and consistency in a state's perception of territories lost is developed. Further, five explanatory factors are discussed and applied to the Syrian cases. Of the five, only integrative state building and the existence of a contending élite with the ability to formulate an alternative version of an appropriate and right-sized national territory were concluded to have affected policies towards territories lost in the Syrian case.