Syrian Intellectuals in Exile - The Dilemmas of Revolution and the Cost of Leaving

In the wake of the 2011 uprising in Syria, a number of Syrian intellectuals were forced into exile. Many of these intellectuals played a crucial role in mobilising people in the early days of the movement, but once in exile an irreconcilable tension emerged between their revolutionary narratives and the violent reality on the ground. Zeina Al Azmeh explores this tension, shedding light on whether and how exile influenced narratives, strategies, and political agency. Drawing on extensive ethnographic fieldwork and interviews in Paris and Berlin, Al Azmeh examines how writers and artists work to reconcile revolutionary ideals with the realities of war and displacement. Bringing together insights from cultural sociology, postcolonial thought, and migration studies, Syrian Intellectuals in Exile provides new analytical tools for understanding the intersection of intellectual work and social movements. This study blends empirical research with personal narratives, offering a timely reflection on exile, memory, and the limits of intellectual activism.

List of contents

Introduction; 1. Latent antagonisms. Emergent rivalries; 2. From double conscience to dual gaze; 3. Between critical liminality and radical embeddedness; 4. The right to meaning; Conclusion; Epilogue; References; Index.

About the author

Zeina Al Azmeh is a Research and Teaching Associate in Political Sociology at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Selwyn College. Her research focuses on the experiences of academics and intellectuals in exile. Educated in Syria, the US, and the UK, she started as a pianist and composer and previously lectured in classical music theory in Damascus.

Product details

• Authors: Zeina Al Azmeh, Zeina (University of Cambridge) Al Azmeh
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Release: 31.12.2025
• EAN: 9781009687867
• ISBN: 978-1-0-0968786-7
• No. of pages: 288
• Series: The Global Middle East
• Subjects: Non-fiction book > History > Miscellaneous; Berlin, History of Ideas, France, Germany, Syria, POLITICAL SCIENCE / World / General, 21st Century, 21st century history: from c 2000 -, Politics & government, 21st century, c 2000 to c 2100, Migration, immigration & emigration, Paris (City), Migration, immigration and emigration, Politics and government, Middle Eastern history, c 2010 to c 2019