Pub Date : 2023-01-13DOI: 10.1080/19448953.2023.2167339
Barçın Boğaç
ABSTRACT This study offers an alternative perspective for examining the rise of Turkish nationalism in the Eastern Mediterranean in relation to cinema culture within the political and historical contexts of Cyprus. The cinema business and its practices had their golden age in the 1950s through the distribution of Turkish films from Turkey and the increasing number of movie theatres in Turkish Cypriot neighbourhoods. This period was also crucial in terms of political developments on the island due to the drastic rise in ethnic and national divisions. Drawing on archival research and oral history; this article aims to examine how Turkish nationalism was provided with the ideal conditions to grow rapidly at Cypriot cinemas and how multi-communal cinemagoing experiences of the early 1950s had transformed into nationally divided Cypriot audiences during the last years of British colonial rule in Cyprus.
{"title":"An Island Getting Divided at the Cinema: Transformational Microhistory of Cinemagoing and Nationalism in Cyprus","authors":"Barçın Boğaç","doi":"10.1080/19448953.2023.2167339","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/19448953.2023.2167339","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This study offers an alternative perspective for examining the rise of Turkish nationalism in the Eastern Mediterranean in relation to cinema culture within the political and historical contexts of Cyprus. The cinema business and its practices had their golden age in the 1950s through the distribution of Turkish films from Turkey and the increasing number of movie theatres in Turkish Cypriot neighbourhoods. This period was also crucial in terms of political developments on the island due to the drastic rise in ethnic and national divisions. Drawing on archival research and oral history; this article aims to examine how Turkish nationalism was provided with the ideal conditions to grow rapidly at Cypriot cinemas and how multi-communal cinemagoing experiences of the early 1950s had transformed into nationally divided Cypriot audiences during the last years of British colonial rule in Cyprus.","PeriodicalId":45789,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies","volume":"25 1","pages":"1037 - 1056"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49385456","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-01-13DOI: 10.1080/19448953.2023.2167353
Vedrana Baričević
ABSTRACT This paper analyses discourses and policies of citizenship and immigration in Croatia, with a special focus on marketization and culturalisation of citizenship. Along with many other Central and Eastern European states, Croatia is commonly studied as a model case of ethnonationalism. This study seeks to warn that in an ethnocentric state, there can also be other important notions of deservingness that structure one’s route to membership today, showing us that we need to move beyond an exclusive focus on ethnonationalism. The paper explores how socioeconomic status and (ethno)cultural origin impact the ability of non-ethnics to claim and receive citizenship rights. The research focuses on two cultural groups: traditional immigrant populations coming from post-Yugoslav states and the new immigrant groups coming from countries in the Middle East.
{"title":"Beyond Ethnonationalism? Ethnos, Market and Culture in Croatian Policies of Citizenship","authors":"Vedrana Baričević","doi":"10.1080/19448953.2023.2167353","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/19448953.2023.2167353","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This paper analyses discourses and policies of citizenship and immigration in Croatia, with a special focus on marketization and culturalisation of citizenship. Along with many other Central and Eastern European states, Croatia is commonly studied as a model case of ethnonationalism. This study seeks to warn that in an ethnocentric state, there can also be other important notions of deservingness that structure one’s route to membership today, showing us that we need to move beyond an exclusive focus on ethnonationalism. The paper explores how socioeconomic status and (ethno)cultural origin impact the ability of non-ethnics to claim and receive citizenship rights. The research focuses on two cultural groups: traditional immigrant populations coming from post-Yugoslav states and the new immigrant groups coming from countries in the Middle East.","PeriodicalId":45789,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies","volume":"25 1","pages":"982 - 1001"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45171033","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-01-13DOI: 10.1080/19448953.2023.2167342
Jonilda Rrapaj Kolasi, Klevis Kolasi
ABSTRACT What factors account for the transformation-democracy nexus and the failure of democratization in Albania? Current literature assumes that while neoliberal policy frameworks promoted by transnational actors have inextricably a democratizing effect, the failure of democratization results from internal features that are thought to be peculiar to Albania. This article challenges this assumption. Building on Antonio Gramsci’s concept of passive revolution, we show that, while the demise of ‘real socialism’ unlocked the potential towards a freer society, it was the neoliberal restructuring that placed limits on the process of democratization. The failure of Albanian democratization is associated, therefore, not with cultural peculiarities, but with neoliberal passive revolution, that led to the thwarting of democratic gains and establishment of a new class domination in line with a neoliberal accumulation strategy.
{"title":"The Political Economy of Passive Revolution in Albania: The Neoliberal Paradox and Transformation-Democratization Nexus","authors":"Jonilda Rrapaj Kolasi, Klevis Kolasi","doi":"10.1080/19448953.2023.2167342","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/19448953.2023.2167342","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT What factors account for the transformation-democracy nexus and the failure of democratization in Albania? Current literature assumes that while neoliberal policy frameworks promoted by transnational actors have inextricably a democratizing effect, the failure of democratization results from internal features that are thought to be peculiar to Albania. This article challenges this assumption. Building on Antonio Gramsci’s concept of passive revolution, we show that, while the demise of ‘real socialism’ unlocked the potential towards a freer society, it was the neoliberal restructuring that placed limits on the process of democratization. The failure of Albanian democratization is associated, therefore, not with cultural peculiarities, but with neoliberal passive revolution, that led to the thwarting of democratic gains and establishment of a new class domination in line with a neoliberal accumulation strategy.","PeriodicalId":45789,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies","volume":"25 1","pages":"963 - 981"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47870773","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-01-12DOI: 10.1080/19448953.2023.2167176
Vladimir Bakrač, M. Dokić, B. Radeljić
ABSTRACT The post-Yugoslav context has experienced major instances of intolerance, suggesting that the success of initiatives dedicated to interreligious dialogue and lasting peaceful coexistence has been limited. While being aware of what is expected of them, political elites and religious leaders have approached each other as an asset useful to legitimize their rule, which has directly restrained prospects for a prejudice-free dialogue in the fragile societies. This article sees interreligious dialogue and tolerance as an imperative prerequisite for multiconfessional reconciliation in the area of the former Yugoslavia, so that religion is not used as a means for social and political agendas. Accordingly, religious dialogue and debates concerning tolerance should be treated as a sort of incomplete conversation, which should also welcome contributions from a wide range of civic actors in charge of monitoring pursued processes.
{"title":"The Complexities of Interreligious Dialogue in the Post-Yugoslav Context","authors":"Vladimir Bakrač, M. Dokić, B. Radeljić","doi":"10.1080/19448953.2023.2167176","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/19448953.2023.2167176","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The post-Yugoslav context has experienced major instances of intolerance, suggesting that the success of initiatives dedicated to interreligious dialogue and lasting peaceful coexistence has been limited. While being aware of what is expected of them, political elites and religious leaders have approached each other as an asset useful to legitimize their rule, which has directly restrained prospects for a prejudice-free dialogue in the fragile societies. This article sees interreligious dialogue and tolerance as an imperative prerequisite for multiconfessional reconciliation in the area of the former Yugoslavia, so that religion is not used as a means for social and political agendas. Accordingly, religious dialogue and debates concerning tolerance should be treated as a sort of incomplete conversation, which should also welcome contributions from a wide range of civic actors in charge of monitoring pursued processes.","PeriodicalId":45789,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies","volume":"25 1","pages":"811 - 831"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49211927","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-01-12DOI: 10.1080/19448953.2023.2167183
F. Cengiz
ABSTRACT This article analyzes the rise of a newly established nationalist right-wing political party in Turkey—namely the Good Party (İYİP)—with respect to the concept of anomie. In contrast to the mainstream literature, which exclusively concentrates on the concept of populism in its analysis of the rise of right-wing political parties, this study explains the İYİP’s advancement using Institutional Anomie Theory, along with the fall of the ‘Turkish Dream’, wherein the democratic and economic aspirations of the 2000s were hindered in the 2010s by the authoritarian turn and the entrenchment of the neoliberal economic order. In other words, a contradiction between historically embedded goals (democratization and wealth) and the political means exercised (authoritarian turn and neoliberalism) led to anomie in Turkey, which created a window of opportunity to be exploited by a right-wing political party. The article concludes, based on İYİP rhetoric, that the backlash against the authoritarian turn may surface in the form of regulatory nostalgia for the parliamentary system and exclusionary attitudes towards Syrians living in Turkey.
{"title":"The Rise of the Right-Wing Good Party (İYİP) in Turkey: Authoritarian Turn, Anomie, and Regulatory Nostalgia","authors":"F. Cengiz","doi":"10.1080/19448953.2023.2167183","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/19448953.2023.2167183","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This article analyzes the rise of a newly established nationalist right-wing political party in Turkey—namely the Good Party (İYİP)—with respect to the concept of anomie. In contrast to the mainstream literature, which exclusively concentrates on the concept of populism in its analysis of the rise of right-wing political parties, this study explains the İYİP’s advancement using Institutional Anomie Theory, along with the fall of the ‘Turkish Dream’, wherein the democratic and economic aspirations of the 2000s were hindered in the 2010s by the authoritarian turn and the entrenchment of the neoliberal economic order. In other words, a contradiction between historically embedded goals (democratization and wealth) and the political means exercised (authoritarian turn and neoliberalism) led to anomie in Turkey, which created a window of opportunity to be exploited by a right-wing political party. The article concludes, based on İYİP rhetoric, that the backlash against the authoritarian turn may surface in the form of regulatory nostalgia for the parliamentary system and exclusionary attitudes towards Syrians living in Turkey.","PeriodicalId":45789,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies","volume":"25 1","pages":"778 - 796"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43039214","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-01-12DOI: 10.1080/19448953.2023.2167182
A. Omidi, Hande Orhon Özdağ
ABSTRACT In recent decades, particularly since 2002, relations between Iran and Turkey have been on the rise and generally expanding. The aim of this paper is to analyse and clarify the reasons for the sustainability of the two countries’ relations while undergoing intermittent eruptions of disputes over the years. In other words, the main question is: why have Iran and Turkey, with their political frictions, routinely embraced rapprochement and collaboration in recent decades? Accordingly, the hypothesis proposed is that a key reason for the ongoing cooperation between Tehran and Ankara in different fields, is the rationale of geopolitical complementarity engendering their security needs in broad meaning, particularly energy security and natural gas. Whilst the logic also applies to water security, both states attach greater importance to border security and energy. In short, their common geopolitical destiny over-rides individual state preferences. To examine this hypothesis, Barry Buzan’s theory based on a broad definition of security as well as regional security complex has been deployed through descriptive analytics.
{"title":"Analyzing the Mutual Geopolitical and Security Complementarity of Iran and Turkey: Border, Energy, and Water","authors":"A. Omidi, Hande Orhon Özdağ","doi":"10.1080/19448953.2023.2167182","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/19448953.2023.2167182","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT In recent decades, particularly since 2002, relations between Iran and Turkey have been on the rise and generally expanding. The aim of this paper is to analyse and clarify the reasons for the sustainability of the two countries’ relations while undergoing intermittent eruptions of disputes over the years. In other words, the main question is: why have Iran and Turkey, with their political frictions, routinely embraced rapprochement and collaboration in recent decades? Accordingly, the hypothesis proposed is that a key reason for the ongoing cooperation between Tehran and Ankara in different fields, is the rationale of geopolitical complementarity engendering their security needs in broad meaning, particularly energy security and natural gas. Whilst the logic also applies to water security, both states attach greater importance to border security and energy. In short, their common geopolitical destiny over-rides individual state preferences. To examine this hypothesis, Barry Buzan’s theory based on a broad definition of security as well as regional security complex has been deployed through descriptive analytics.","PeriodicalId":45789,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies","volume":"25 1","pages":"923 - 943"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43986648","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-01-11DOI: 10.1080/19448953.2023.2167175
Shaimaa Magued
ABSTRACT How did authoritarian rulers succeed to consolidate their rule during the Arab uprisings? In answering this question, this study sheds light on al-Assad regime’s resilience through the mobilization of armed non-state actors’ sectarian alliances. Unlike scholarly writings touching upon authoritarianism in the Middle East, this study builds on alliance politics theory in arguing for authoritarian upgrading during the uprisings where armed non-state actors’ sectarian alliances manifested a balance of interests, plunged calls for democratization into a security dilemma, and asserted dictators’ grip on power. Drawing on a Critical Discourse Analysis of al-Assad and warlords’ speeches, statements, and video releases, this study extends debates on authoritarian restitution in the Middle East towards armed non-state actors’ sectarian alliances as an innovative mechanism for rule sustainability.
{"title":"Upgrading Authoritarianism During the Arab Uprisings: Armed Non-State Actors’ Confessional Alliances and Aborted Democratization in Syria","authors":"Shaimaa Magued","doi":"10.1080/19448953.2023.2167175","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/19448953.2023.2167175","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT How did authoritarian rulers succeed to consolidate their rule during the Arab uprisings? In answering this question, this study sheds light on al-Assad regime’s resilience through the mobilization of armed non-state actors’ sectarian alliances. Unlike scholarly writings touching upon authoritarianism in the Middle East, this study builds on alliance politics theory in arguing for authoritarian upgrading during the uprisings where armed non-state actors’ sectarian alliances manifested a balance of interests, plunged calls for democratization into a security dilemma, and asserted dictators’ grip on power. Drawing on a Critical Discourse Analysis of al-Assad and warlords’ speeches, statements, and video releases, this study extends debates on authoritarian restitution in the Middle East towards armed non-state actors’ sectarian alliances as an innovative mechanism for rule sustainability.","PeriodicalId":45789,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies","volume":"25 1","pages":"871 - 887"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45030720","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-11-30DOI: 10.1080/19448953.2022.2143850
Y. Güçlü
{"title":"Selahattín Ülkümen: The Turkish Righteous Among the Nations","authors":"Y. Güçlü","doi":"10.1080/19448953.2022.2143850","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/19448953.2022.2143850","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":45789,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies","volume":"25 1","pages":"458 - 483"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2022-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46479246","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-11-30DOI: 10.1080/19448953.2022.2143855
Klearchos A. Kyriakides
ABSTRACT This article focuses on the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant in Turkey. Its thesis is that its construction marks a turning point in the history, character, dynamics and risk profile of both Turkey and the Greater Middle East. The construction of the Plant reflects a number of emerging phenomena with unmistakable geopolitical implications. These encompass the nuclearization of Turkey, the nuclearization of the Greater Middle East and what appears to be an increasingly intimate Russo-Turkish bilateral relationship at odds with Turkey’s membership of NATO. Against this background, the article pinpoints several causes for concern. Among these is the detachment of Turkey from a string of international conventions that seek to promote nuclear safety or to protect the sea, the wider environment, workers or other people. Other causes for concern include the absence in Turkey of a deep-rooted culture steeped in transparency, press freedom, whistleblowing and other potential facilitators of nuclear safety. The article ends with five sets of recommendations directed towards the Government of Turkey plus the Governments and inhabitants of other states in the Greater Middle East and the EU, two of whose member states, the Republic of Cyprus and Greece, are situated in relatively close proximity to the Plant.
{"title":"The Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant in Turkey: Some Causes for Concern","authors":"Klearchos A. Kyriakides","doi":"10.1080/19448953.2022.2143855","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/19448953.2022.2143855","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This article focuses on the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant in Turkey. Its thesis is that its construction marks a turning point in the history, character, dynamics and risk profile of both Turkey and the Greater Middle East. The construction of the Plant reflects a number of emerging phenomena with unmistakable geopolitical implications. These encompass the nuclearization of Turkey, the nuclearization of the Greater Middle East and what appears to be an increasingly intimate Russo-Turkish bilateral relationship at odds with Turkey’s membership of NATO. Against this background, the article pinpoints several causes for concern. Among these is the detachment of Turkey from a string of international conventions that seek to promote nuclear safety or to protect the sea, the wider environment, workers or other people. Other causes for concern include the absence in Turkey of a deep-rooted culture steeped in transparency, press freedom, whistleblowing and other potential facilitators of nuclear safety. The article ends with five sets of recommendations directed towards the Government of Turkey plus the Governments and inhabitants of other states in the Greater Middle East and the EU, two of whose member states, the Republic of Cyprus and Greece, are situated in relatively close proximity to the Plant.","PeriodicalId":45789,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies","volume":"25 1","pages":"340 - 377"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2022-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"60386091","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-11-17DOI: 10.1080/19448953.2022.2143864
H. Azizi, Amir Hossein Vazirian
ABSTRACT Over the past two decades, there has been a growing tendency among Middle Eastern states to use armed non-state actors (ANSAs) as proxies, making them a constant feature of regional conflicts. Fatemiyoun and Zainabiyoun brigades are two recent examples of state-sponsored ANSAs, which have played a significant role as Iran’s proxies in the course of the Syrian conflict. This article seeks to answer the question as to what role the Fatemiyoun and Zainabiyoun brigades have played in Iran’s military strategy in Syria and how effective they have been in securing Tehran’s strategic interests in the war-torn country. The article argues that following the outbreak of the Syrian crisis—as the most critical challenge to Iran’s foreign policy in the Middle East over the past decade—and due to Iran’s restraints in sustaining a large-scale direct military presence in Syria, the two Afghan and Pakistani brigades acted as Iran’s ground forces, reducing human and financial costs of a direct military engagement for Tehran. The effective role played by the two brigades was mainly reflected in the four strategic battles of Aleppo, Southern Syria, Palmyra, and Eastern Syria.
{"title":"The Role of Armed Non-State Actors in Iran’s Syria Strategy: A Case Study of Fatemiyoun and Zainabiyoun Brigades","authors":"H. Azizi, Amir Hossein Vazirian","doi":"10.1080/19448953.2022.2143864","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/19448953.2022.2143864","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Over the past two decades, there has been a growing tendency among Middle Eastern states to use armed non-state actors (ANSAs) as proxies, making them a constant feature of regional conflicts. Fatemiyoun and Zainabiyoun brigades are two recent examples of state-sponsored ANSAs, which have played a significant role as Iran’s proxies in the course of the Syrian conflict. This article seeks to answer the question as to what role the Fatemiyoun and Zainabiyoun brigades have played in Iran’s military strategy in Syria and how effective they have been in securing Tehran’s strategic interests in the war-torn country. The article argues that following the outbreak of the Syrian crisis—as the most critical challenge to Iran’s foreign policy in the Middle East over the past decade—and due to Iran’s restraints in sustaining a large-scale direct military presence in Syria, the two Afghan and Pakistani brigades acted as Iran’s ground forces, reducing human and financial costs of a direct military engagement for Tehran. The effective role played by the two brigades was mainly reflected in the four strategic battles of Aleppo, Southern Syria, Palmyra, and Eastern Syria.","PeriodicalId":45789,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies","volume":"25 1","pages":"540 - 557"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2022-11-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49375756","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}