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Those Who Remain Neutral Are Eliminated, or is it the Opposite? The Druze in Syria

Sayı: 123 20 Eylül 2026
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Those Who Remain Neutral Are Eliminated, or is it the Opposite? The Druze in Syria

Öz

The ethnic conflict literature largely treats communal identities as divisions that drive violence but pays limited attention to how conflict reshapes ethnic identities and political alignments. This article combines the elite manipulation thesis with uncertainty-identity theory to explain how political elites instrumentalize ethnicity and why individuals recalibrate their loyalties under existential uncertainty. The Syrian Druze constitute a critical case for examining these dynamics during and after the civil war. Using theorytesting process tracing, the study draws on forty-one semi-structured interviews with Syrian refugees, fieldwork among Lebanese Druze, and secondary sources from 2011– 2025. The findings show that the Assad regime fostered insecurity through discursive manipulation, selective patronage of religious leaders, and economic dependence, leading the Druze to adopt a fragmented, security-oriented posture. In the post-Assad period, Israel reproduced the same mechanism, indicating that while the manipulating actor changed, the underlying logic remained intact.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Syria, Druze, Sectarianism, Elite Manipulation, Uncertainty-Identity Theory, Civil War.

Kaynakça

  1. Abu Amir, A. M. (2025, October 29). İsti‘ṣāʾ al-damj.. Tārīkh al-ṣirāʿ bayna Jabal al-Durūz wa al-dawla al-markaziyya. Alpheratz Magazine. Retrieved April 4, 2026, from https://www.kisa.link/XBMGc
  2. ACLED. (2025). Sectarian violence threatens Syria’s chance at stability. Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project. Retrieved April 8, 2026, from https://acleddata.com/report/sectarian-violence-threatens-syrias-chance-stability
  3. Agence France-Presse. (2018, November 21). Syria’s Druze reject Assad’s call to serve. Yahoo News. Retrieved April 5, 2026, from https://sg.news.yahoo.com/syrias-druze-reject-assads-call-serve-021904707.html
  4. Al Jazeera. (2020, March 6). Turkey, Russia announce ceasefire in Syria’s Idlib. Retrieved April 8, 2026, from https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/3/6/erdogan-putin-announce-idlib-ceasefire-after-moscow-meeting
  5. Al Jazeera. (2024, December 8). What happened in Syria? How did al-Assad fall? Retrieved April 8, 2026, from https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/12/8/what-happened-in-syria-has-al-assad-really-fallen
  6. Al Jazeera. (2025, December 9). Israel attacked Syria more than 600 times over the past year. Retrieved April 8, 2026, from https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/12/9/israel-attacked-syria-more-than-600-times-over-the-past-year
  7. Al Jazeera. (2025, March 16). Hikmat al-Hajari, ahad zu‘amā’ al-Durūz fī Sūriyā. Retrieved April 5, 2026, https://www.kisa.link/qLnTl
  8. Al- Jubbai, K, J. (2015). Siyasat al huviyye fi’s-sevreti’s-Suriyye Düruz nemuzecen. Orient Vision Center.
  9. Al-Kaisi, Y., & Al- Najjar, Y. & Puttick, M. (2021). In the name of protection: Minorities and identity in the Syrian conflict. Ceasefire Centre for Civilian Rights.
  10. Al-Lababidi, M. (2019). The Druze of Sweida: the return of the regime hinges on regional and local conflicts. European University Institute.

Kaynak Göster

APA
Yıldız, T., & Sarı, A. (2026). Those Who Remain Neutral Are Eliminated, or is it the Opposite? The Druze in Syria. Liberal Düşünce Dergisi, 123. https://doi.org/10.36484/liberal.1937940
AMA
1.Yıldız T, Sarı A. Those Who Remain Neutral Are Eliminated, or is it the Opposite? The Druze in Syria. Liberal Düşünce Dergisi. 2026;(123). doi:10.36484/liberal.1937940
Chicago
Yıldız, Tuba, ve Ayhan Sarı. 2026. “Those Who Remain Neutral Are Eliminated, or is it the Opposite? The Druze in Syria”. Liberal Düşünce Dergisi, sy 123. https://doi.org/10.36484/liberal.1937940.
EndNote
Yıldız T, Sarı A (01 Eylül 2026) Those Who Remain Neutral Are Eliminated, or is it the Opposite? The Druze in Syria. Liberal Düşünce Dergisi 123
IEEE
[1]T. Yıldız ve A. Sarı, “Those Who Remain Neutral Are Eliminated, or is it the Opposite? The Druze in Syria”, Liberal Düşünce Dergisi, sy 123, Eyl. 2026, doi: 10.36484/liberal.1937940.
ISNAD
Yıldız, Tuba - Sarı, Ayhan. “Those Who Remain Neutral Are Eliminated, or is it the Opposite? The Druze in Syria”. Liberal Düşünce Dergisi. 123 (01 Eylül 2026). https://doi.org/10.36484/liberal.1937940.
JAMA
1.Yıldız T, Sarı A. Those Who Remain Neutral Are Eliminated, or is it the Opposite? The Druze in Syria. Liberal Düşünce Dergisi. 2026. doi:10.36484/liberal.1937940.
MLA
Yıldız, Tuba, ve Ayhan Sarı. “Those Who Remain Neutral Are Eliminated, or is it the Opposite? The Druze in Syria”. Liberal Düşünce Dergisi, sy 123, Eylül 2026, doi:10.36484/liberal.1937940.
Vancouver
1.Tuba Yıldız, Ayhan Sarı. Those Who Remain Neutral Are Eliminated, or is it the Opposite? The Druze in Syria. Liberal Düşünce Dergisi. 01 Eylül 2026;(123). doi:10.36484/liberal.1937940