Critical analysis of attempts to co-opt the tribes in Syria

Since the start of the Arab uprisings, the role of urban versus rural populations in igniting and leading the uprisings has persistently been the subject of debate and contention. Within the SWANA region, Syria has been the first to experience an overwhelmingly rural uprising. The affluent cities of Damascus and Aleppo did not play a major role in the uprising, at least not initially. Syria’s countryside has been widely populated by tribal communities; a large part of which were displaced from their villages in the city outskirts due to the 2007 drought.