Research master thesis | Middle Eastern Studies (research) (MA)
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The present thesis investigates the relationship between Italian and Lebanese left during the years between 1967 and 1975, uncovering the development of a special relationship between the Italian...Show moreThe present thesis investigates the relationship between Italian and Lebanese left during the years between 1967 and 1975, uncovering the development of a special relationship between the Italian Communist Party (PCI) and the Lebanese Communist Party (LCP). This was a transformative period for both countries' leftist groups, following the 1967 June War and the 1968 global protests. This was reflected in the Italian approach towards the Middle East and the Palestinian cause, as public opinion and the Italian Socialist Party (PSI) moved from a pro-Israel position to support the Palestinian struggle. I argue that this shift was influenced by the close relationship between the PCI and the LCP, which evolved from preferential contact to a special relationship. The LCP was the PCI’s preferred interlocutor in the region, and as the 1975 Civil War approached the PCI began supporting the Lebanese comrades with first humanitarian and then financial aid. This close relationship in turn provided the PCI with information on regional politics and direct access to the Palestinian groups. By the early 1980s, the Italian position completed the shift in favour of Palestine, and both the PCI and PSI abandoned their traditional pacifism to support an Italian military intervention in Lebanon to stop the Israeli invasion in 1982. I investigate this shift mainly through PCI and PSI archives, which show the increasing contact with Lebanese groups and the growing involvement in the country. Looking at the evolving relationship between the Italian and Lebanese Left, this thesis highlights the transnational nature of the leftist movement and connects Italian and Lebanese local politics to the global context of the Cold War and the Long-Sixties.Show less
This research attempts to shed light on the relationship between the Syrian government and the PLO during the period from 1967 until 1985. Key events between the war of 1967 and the Palestinian...Show moreThis research attempts to shed light on the relationship between the Syrian government and the PLO during the period from 1967 until 1985. Key events between the war of 1967 and the Palestinian refugee camp wars of 1985 in Lebanon are taken as focal points of analysis for this research. The hypothesis investigated in this research is the following: The soft power of the PLO contributed to the delegitimization of the power of the Syrian government under Hafez al-Assad. To test the hypothesis a collection of primary and secondary sources is used. The primary sources include archives from the Lebanese newspaper al-Nahar and the Foreign Broadcast Information Service. For secondary sources, the research relies on authoritative literature to understand the interaction between the PLO and the Syrian government under Hafez al-Assad. The significance of this research derives partially from moving away from the dominant realist and rationalist models to explain the politics of the Arab world. Taking Joseph Nye’s notion of soft power, alternatively, enables this research to look into how other forms of power influence the behavior of these actors, and vice-versa. This research concludes that the PLO’s soft power did have a significant effect on the Syrian government’s legitimacy under Hafez al-Assad. However, this soft power has been only one factor among other factors that can be used to account for the legitimacy deficit suffered by the Syrian government. These other factors, as well as limitations of this research, are discussed towards the end of the paper.Show less
