The mimetic arena beyond the liminal veil: the Syrian civil war: imitation, revenge and the chain of violence in escalating internal conflicts

Tatangelo, Ilaria (A.A. 2024/2025) The mimetic arena beyond the liminal veil: the Syrian civil war: imitation, revenge and the chain of violence in escalating internal conflicts. Tesi di Laurea in Comparative history of political systems, Luiss Guido Carli, relatore Rosario Forlenza, pp. 99. [Master's Degree Thesis]

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Abstract/Index

The imitation game. Defining civil war: the dichotomy of Polemos and Stasis. Theoretical foundations: Rene Girard and the shades of mimesis. Mimetic theory: the scapegoat. Conflicts and mimetic theory: from centrifugal to centripetal violence. Betwixt & between. Thresholds to cross: separation and reunion of liminal theory. Rites of passage: a conceptual classification of rites. The un-structure of liminality: turner’s social structure and communitas. Liminality and civil wars: theoretical application. The Syrian civil war. The Syrian civil war: the geopolitical scapegoat. Syria: a young nation in an ancient land. The role of the media: contested narratives in the civil war. Bashar al-Assad: from the axis of evil to the axis of resistance. Year 2011: new chains, same prison. Actors in the Syrian war: united states. Russia's intervention and rationale. Turkey's role and objectives. The use of chemical weapons in Syria. From 2017 to 2025: the conflict. Stalemate and territorial disintegration (2020-2023). Beyond the liminal veil: the Syrian mimetic chaos. The Arab spring’s liminal rapture: the disintegration of the Baathist order. Communitas of passage: the birth of localized governance structures. Main communitas groups: the initial period of Syrian liminality. Main communitas groups: the recent period of Syrian liminality. The liminal theater of war: a curtain that never closes. The purgatory of mimesis–part I: Syrian scapegoating. The scapegoating crisis: the eclipse of culture. Terrorism: the de-personalization of the scapegoat. Who are the terrorists? Post-Assad: HTS and ISIS’s scapegoating. The role of propaganda: shaping narratives and justifying violence. The Assad regime: #SyriaFightsTerror. Rebel factions and decentralized social media. ISIS’s propaganda methods. Post-Assad propaganda: vacuum of liminal power. The purgatory of mimesis–part II: mimetic desire and rivalry. The origins of rivalry: the making of the enemy. Regional powers rivalries: Iran and Saudi Arabia. International rivalry: mimetic escalation. Post-Assad rivalries. The purgatory of mimesis-part iii: violence and the sacred. The paradox of the sacred: a catalyst for conflict. Diversity in Syria: the Sunni Muslim majority. Diversity in Syria: the Alawite minority. Diversity in Syria: the Christian minority. Diversity in Syria: the Druze minority. The Syrian conflict and the role of religious diversity: scholarly perspectives. The last liminal phase: inside the hall of mirrors. Italian ministry of foreign affairs (MFA) official’s interview. Senior official of the European external action service (EEAS)’s interview.

References

Bibliografia: pp. 86-93.

Thesis Type: Master's Degree Thesis
Institution: Luiss Guido Carli
Degree Program: Master's Degree Programs > Master's Degree Program in International Relations (LM-52)
Chair: Comparative history of political systems
Thesis Supervisor: Forlenza, Rosario
Thesis Co-Supervisor: Stoeckl, Kristina
Academic Year: 2024/2025
Session: Summer
Deposited by: Alessandro Perfetti
Date Deposited: 30 Sep 2025 07:59
Last Modified: 30 Sep 2025 07:59
URI: https://tesi.luiss.it/id/eprint/43357

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