Research Article

‘Arisen from Deep Slumber’: Transnational Politics and Competing Nationalisms among Syrian Immigrants in Argentina, 1900–1922

STEVEN HYLAND JR.*

Abstract

This article examines how Syrian immigrants in Argentina responded to the intersection of transnational politics and nascent nationalisms between 1900 and 1922. In particular, it studies the role of Syrian intellectuals in Argentina in advocating a variety of political allegiances that changed over time as their homelands suffered a series of intense political transformations during the first two decades of the twentieth century. The emergence of Syrian and Lebanese ethnic identities as well as an Arab racialised identity was the product of distinct political programmes circulating in the Levant and among the Syrian émigré communities in the Americas, threatening to undermine the immigrant colony's sense of community.

Spanish abstract

Este artículo examina cómo inmigrantes sirios en Argentina respondieron al encuentro entre políticas transnacionales y los nacientes nacionalismos entre 1900 y 1922. En particular, el ensayo estudia el papel de intelectuales sirios en Argentina en la defensa de una variedad de lealtades políticas que cambiaron en el tiempo en la medida en que sus lugares de origen sufrieron intensas transformaciones políticas durante las dos primeras décadas del siglo XX. La emergencia de las identidades étnicas sirias y libanesas, así como una identidad árabe racializada, fue el producto de distintos programas políticos circulando en el Levante y entre las comunidades sirias emigradas en América Latina, amenazando con minar la sensación de comunidad de la colonia inmigrante.

Portuguese abstract

Examina-se como imigrantes sírios na Argentina responderam à intersecção de políticas transnacionais e nacionalismos emergentes entre 1900 e 1922. Especificamente, estuda-se o papel de intelectuais sírios na Argentina, defendendo uma variedade de alianças políticas que foram alteradas ao longo do tempo em que sua pátria natal sofreu uma série de transformações políticas intensas durante as primeiras duas décadas do século XX. O aparecimento de identidades étnicas sírias e libanesas assim como uma identidade árabe racializada foi o resultado de programas políticos distintos que circulavam no Levante e entre as comunidades imigrantes sírias nas Américas que ameaçavam minar o senso de comunidade da colônia de imigrantes.

(Online publication September 08 2011)

Keywords

• transnational migration;
• nationalism;
• immigrant politics;
• Argentina;
• Ottoman Empire

Spanish keywords

• migración transnacional;
• nacionalismo;
• política de inmigración;
• Argentina;
• Imperio Otomán

Portuguese keywords

• imigração transnacional;
• nacionalismo;
• políticas dos imigrantes;
• Argentina;
• Império Otomano

Steven Hyland Jr. is an assistant professor in the Department of History and Political Science at Wingate University. Email: s.hyland@wingate.edu.

Footnotes

* I wish to thank my mentor, Donna J. Guy, who read the essay at various stages of development and provided the criticism to improve it. I also benefited from the support and perceptive comments of Kenneth J. Andrien, Carter V. Findley, José Antonio Sánchez Roman and Ryan Skinner, as well as from colleagues and friends, notably Isa Blumi, Andy Clarno, Di Luo, Julie Maiorana, Dave McLaughlin, Kawa Morad and the O'Malleys. I appreciated the comments and criticisms from the four anonymous reviewers, which made the article stronger. I am thankful for financial support from the Social Science Research Council, the Fulbright Fellowship Program and the College of Humanities, Department of History, Middle East Studies Centre and Centre for Latin American Studies at Ohio State University, which allowed to me to conduct the necessary archival research in Argentina, Lebanon and Syria.