Teacher Zhao Na's project French Mandate Rule in the Middle East has been approved for the 2023 National Social Science Fund's Post-funding Project. The project investigates the colonial rule of France in Syria and Lebanon during the two World Wars, including the historical processes and methods of French mandate rule, as well as the colonial legacies left in Syria and Lebanon. On one hand, French mandate rule laid the foundation for modern Syrian and Lebanese states; on the other hand, it was the historical origin of various issues such as territorial disputes, sectarian conflicts, and political power distribution in Syria and Lebanon. This in-depth study of mandate rule is conducted from a global historical perspective. The establishment of mandate rule was based on unequal international relations. The French mandate authorities implemented assimilation policies through authoritarianism and coercion, leading to the existence of separatist movements and the loss of national identity in Syria and Lebanon, leaving many unresolved issues in the political ecology of both countries. Through anti-French struggles, nationalistic sentiments emerged in Syria and Lebanon, ultimately leading to their independence. Therefore, this research not only analyzes Western colonialist ideas and policies but also provides an important interpretation of the Arab world's resistance to Western colonization.
Currently, our school has been approved for 7 National Social Science Fund projects. Teacher Zhao Na's project French Mandate Rule in the Middle East is the first post-funding project approved by our school among the National Social Science Fund projects, which marks a new breakthrough in the types of National Social Science Fund projects obtained by our school.