Urban spaces and contentious action in the Syrian cities

Despite the great momentum of the Syrian revolutions, big cities in Syria like Damascus and Aleppo- unlike the situation in Tunisia or Egypt- appeared to be pushed aside from the revolutionary scene. Despite the fact that the uprising in Syria was inspired by the events in the broader Arab world, the revolutionary action differed in its tactics of mobilization and in its spatial nature right from the beginning. The big blanket thrown by the term "Arab spring" at the beginning, led to overlooking or downplaying many factors. However, it is because of this framing many themes and features were contrasted and compared for analysis or theory building, such as state structures, or armies' structures even sometimes overlooking the urban divergence. In the literature on Syria, the ongoing upheaval and the militarized complexities has seized the most attention. Less attention has been given to the onset of the revolution, particularly to the social fabric in relation to the urban fabric and the logics of action of the different urban settings that varied internally and also in comparison to the broader Arab spring scene. By mapping space, forces and contention in the four main cities in Syria (Damascus, Aleppo, Homs and Hama), this study examines the social networks of the different settings and their place mainly in relation to other settings in order to interpret the logics of action at the onset of the revolution of the different urban settings in the Syrian cities. Keywords: Urban settings, Contentious action, Mobilization; Space, Networks.