Paul Bonnetain (1858-1899) is a French author whose work has been largely forgotten. While the literary merit of much of his output is another matter, this thesis will show that the value of Bonnetains work is of considerable historical significance as a record of the ways in which the apparently contradictory notions of republican universalism and racial hierarchy were combined to form the French mission civilisatrice. The focus will be on Bonnetains two books gleaned from his time spent in Indochina as a correspondent for Le Figaro during 1884-1885, the compiled journalism of Au Tonkin (1884) and the Naturalist colonial novel LOpium. Both books exemplify the historical interest of Bonnetains work, which lies in its Naturalist quest for scientifically accurate literature and in its belief in the phenomenon of racial degeneration. This belief is coupled with a strongly implied materialist adherence to polygenism the belief that human races represent different species with distinct origins. However, these aspects of his work are brought into even greater relief by their juxtaposition with Bonnetains strongly leftist, anti-clerical, and materialist republican universalism. This thesis describes how his enthusiasm for miscegenation and métissage, as expressed in Au Tonkin and LOpium, allowed him to maintain a belief in racial hierarchy while also enthusiastically subscribing to republican universalism. In this way, métissage served as a framework in which these two seemingly contradictory positions could be held together.

Paul Bonnetain (1858-1899) is a French author whose work has been largely forgotten. While the literary merit of much of his output is another matter, this thesis will show that the value of Bonnetains work is of considerable historical significance as a record of the ways in which the apparently contradictory notions of republican universalism and racial hierarchy were combined to form the French mission civilisatrice. The focus will be on Bonnetains two books gleaned from his time spent in Indochina as a correspondent for Le Figaro during 1884-1885, the compiled journalism of Au Tonkin (1884) and the Naturalist colonial novel LOpium. Both books exemplify the historical interest of Bonnetains work, which lies in its Naturalist quest for scientifically accurate literature and in its belief in the phenomenon of racial degeneration. This belief is coupled with a strongly implied materialist adherence to polygenism the belief that human races represent different species with distinct origins. However, these aspects of his work are brought into even greater relief by their juxtaposition with Bonnetains strongly leftist, anti-clerical, and materialist republican universalism. This thesis describes how his enthusiasm for miscegenation and métissage, as expressed in Au Tonkin and LOpium, allowed him to maintain a belief in racial hierarchy while also enthusiastically subscribing to republican universalism. In this way, métissage served as a framework in which these two seemingly contradictory positions could be held together.

TRANSFORMING RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES INTO ETHNIES: THE PROCESS OF LEBANESE NATION-BUILDING 1920-1958 G&uuml / rcan, AySe Ezgi MSc., Graduate Program of Middle East Studies Supervisor: Dr. Erdogan Yildirim August 2007, 100 pages This thesis analyzes the process of nation-building in Lebanon in an historical context, covering the period staring from the declaration of the French Mandate in 1920 until the first civil war of 1958. The thesis defines nation-building as a process of transformation of the pre-modern form of religious identity into the modern ethnic and/or ethno-national identity, which develops along with state-making. In contrast to the claims in the literature that label all non-Western nation-building and state-making as deficient processes emerged as a result of the direct effects of Western colonialism, this study aims to establish an alternative approach in understanding the process of Lebanese nation-building. In this context the thesis evaluates the validity of the premises of the modern nationalism approaches in the literature on questions such as how far colonialism can be labeled as the primary source of Third World nationalism(s), and to what extent the nation-building processes were successful. The thesis claims that the Lebanese case presents a complex case, since nation-building was emerged not only emerged as a result of Western colonialism and power struggles but also did materialize because of the power struggles between and within domestic (Lebanon), regional (Arab states) and international (Europe and Ottoman Empire) actors.