Distance as a Tool for Organising the Body, Space, and Power
001 | Distance
This is the Part (Field) of Work 001: "Distance". You can navigate through the other parts.
[Research → engineering bodies, the field, and narrative in the Syrian field]
[Article → distance as a field of possibility and agency]
⬤ Field Note-001
In the context of the political and security transformations that Syria witnessed after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime, I began to notice a recurrence of interventions touching the distance between bodies, the distance between regions, and the distance within the image of power itself.
I do not treat these events as pre-emptive evidence that separation, isolation, or the reshaping of power's image produces violence.
I treat them as events worthy of tracking, and I ask: what does the reorganisation of distance do?
1. The Distance Between Bodies
In some Syrian contexts, interventions appeared relating to the relationship between men and women in public space, and to the way women and their bodies are present in public places.
The European Union Agency for Asylum documented that some local officials independently applied restrictions on women's presence in certain public and professional fields, including gender separation on buses, in hospitals, and in courts, noting that some of these measures receded after public objections. The Agency also documented that the practices were not, at that stage, a unified system imposed across the entire country.
EUAA
RIS
In June 2025, the Ministry of Tourism issued official guidelines regarding dress on public beaches and pools, including a recommendation for women to wear more modest swimwear, such as the burkini, and to cover the body when moving outside swimming areas. The authorities clarified that the guidelines do not include legal penalties, with exceptions for private resorts and hotels.
Reuters
The National
At the same time, independent religious/community campaigns appeared to distribute the hijab and khimar. The Dahabi campaign's own website presents itself as documenting field activities for distributing the "legal hijab" in various Syrian regions, including the Damascus countryside in 2025 and 2026. This campaign is not, according to what I found, a government decision; therefore it is important to keep official intervention and community/religious pressure as two separate tracks in the observation.
Dahabi.sy
On the other hand, there are more direct events relating to violence against women. A report by Syrians for Truth and Justice documented five cases of killing of women and girls in Aleppo, Idlib, and Hama between June 2025 and May 2026, in crimes linked to so-called "honour" and to attempts to control women's private decisions.
Syrians for Truth and Justice
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also documented, between December 2024 and September 2025, 280 killings that claimed the lives of 317 civilians, including 48 women and 23 children, with most perpetrators remaining unknown according to the Observatory.
During the same period, multiple patterns appeared of reorganising women's presence and bodies in public space, in parallel with the continuation or escalation of various forms of gender-based violence. The relationship between these phenomena is not presupposed, but it deserves examination.
Syria Hr
From the Bus to the Admissions Gate
On 30 September 2026, the Ministry of Higher Education announced the 2026–2027 university admissions list, which restricted admission to men in a number of specializations. According to reports, these include legal and social sciences in the College of Humanities and Administration, the College of Security Sciences, technical institutes for oil and gas and for railways, and radio and television directing. In contrast, the Ministry reserved kindergarten education, nursing, and midwifery programs for women.
The accounts here conflict, and that conflict is part of the material. The Ministry says that the admission rules concerning the sexes have not changed, and that the exceptions are tied to existing conditions or to the nature of certain specializations. Critics argue that the existence of specializations reserved for women is no justification for excluding women from others. Reports also note that some of these specializations remain open to female students at other institutions, including Damascus University. Other reports state that, until 7 October, the Ministry had offered no detailed explanation of the conditions.
We do not claim here that girls and young women have been barred from university study in general. What we record is that, this time, the rule differs explicitly by sex in specific specializations, and that the dispute turns on its name: regulation or prohibition? And what we ask is this: does the regulation of distance between bodies move from the bus, the institution, and appearance to the gate of entry into a professional path?
Enabbaladi
Alaraby
Why does intervention in the relationship between bodies begin so quickly?
What does separation do to the individual body?
What does it do to the relationship between bodies?
What becomes possible when the distance between men and women is reorganised?
What is the relationship between regulating distance and regulating movement, clothing, and behaviour?
When does regulating distance turn from "social ordering" into a tool of control?
And can violence begin before it appears as violence, through rearranging the field in which bodies move?
Here the body becomes a witness to the regime's movement, not merely its victim.
Summary: During the transitional phase, scattered and varying interventions appeared in regulating the distance between men and women within public space and some institutions.
Do these scattered interventions constitute a pattern?
And if they constitute a pattern, what exactly does this pattern organise?
2. The Distance Between Regions — Sweida
After the escalation of fighting in Sweida in July 2025, roads, basic services, and communications were disrupted. Human rights and humanitarian reports indicated that most hospitals went out of service or operated at limited capacity, and that water, electricity, fuel, food, and medicine supplies were severely affected.
Human Rights Watch
Syria Network for Human Rights
On 15 July, the Syrian Observatory reported that main roads were closed, and that the entry of aid from outside the province became difficult, coinciding with the stoppage of water pumping stations and the collapse of commercial movement.
Syria Hr
And most importantly for the concept of distance: the problem was not merely "the presence of fighting inside Sweida," but the possibility of access to Sweida and exit from it, and access to what comes from it and to it, became part of the crisis.
In a German official report on the situation, it was mentioned that government forces closed access roads to Sweida to prevent the return of fighters, and that buses carrying UN medical teams were prevented from reaching or transporting the wounded to Daraa.
FOMR
Access Now also documented a near-complete internet outage in Sweida beginning on 14 July, and the continuation of severe disruption in the following days, considering this a digital isolation that deprived residents of communication and access to information.
Access Now
Then the effect of isolation continued after the major battles stopped. In September 2025, a severe flour crisis appeared, with clear contradiction in the interpretation of its causes: local entities accused the government of preventing the entry of fuel and flour, while other entities accused the local legal committee of manufacturing the crisis.
Enab Baladi
On 5 September, reports were published about a severe shortage of basic medicines needed by patients with immune and rheumatic diseases.
Syria Now
Protests were also documented in September demanding the lifting of the siege on Sweida, while the Damascus–Sweida road itself witnessed tensions related to the movement of displaced persons and access to the region.
Syria Hr
On 4 September 2025, the Syrian Observatory reported that 6,200 students were unable to sit for secondary certificate exams, and that more than 40,000 university students were deprived of education in various universities due to sectarian threats, in addition to the displacement of more than 30,000 students from 32 destroyed villages according to the source.
Syria Hr
The Syrian Women's Political Movement said that secondary exams were not held at all in the province, and that thousands of students could not continue their studies in universities outside it due to incitement and hate speech and security risks. The Syrian Women's Political Movement
The Syrian Women’s Political Movement
So here we are not only talking about geographical distance.
We can begin by tracing:
road → barrier → city → university → exam → information → medicine → bread → water.
Each one of these is a point of connection.
And when these points are disrupted, it is not only distance that disappears; it is re-engineered.
And here our question becomes:
What happens to the body of a region when the distance between it and the rest of the country becomes something that is managed?
Then:
Who can enter?
Who can leave?
Who can transport medicine?
Who can transport news?
Who can go to university?
Who can cross the road?
Who owns the barrier?
And who pays the price of distance?
And this connects Sweida directly to our concept of the body.
The region itself begins to behave as a besieged body.
Not as a final metaphor, but as a field hypothesis that can be tested.
After reviewing the timeline of the three distances:
There is a line extending from December 2024 to September 2026, and we see:
Is distance a passing event?
Or does it turn into a pattern?
Or does what appears to be a pattern from afar disintegrate when we approach each event?
3. The Distance Within the Image of Power Itself
The news does not simply present us with an "extremist government."
The image is more complex.
In the first transitional phase, the new government was formed largely of figures who had worked in the Syrian Salvation Government in Idlib or were linked to Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham. The European Union Agency for Asylum documented the appointment of figures who had been in leadership positions in the Salvation Government to state ministries, including Defence, Interior, and Justice, and Anas Khattab, a former leader in Jabhat al-Nusra, was appointed head of the General Intelligence apparatus.
EUAA +1
In a 2025 United Nations report, it was noted that at least 9 out of 23 ministers were directly or indirectly linked to Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, and that four of them had military roles within it, while holding key ministries such as Foreign Affairs, Defence, Interior, and Justice.
UN Official Documents System
But in March 2025, the new government expanded to include 23 ministers, including representatives of different sects and components, technocrats, and civil society figures.
Reuters
And here precisely the third distance appears.
It is not the distance between a man and a woman.
Nor the distance between Sweida and Damascus.
But:
The distance between the image of power and the positions of power.
We can see in the government image:
broader representation and greater diversity in the facade
And at the same time:
the continuation of figures linked to the previous HTS/SSG network in sovereign and security positions.
This is documented, but it does not on its own tell us what this means politically.
In the structure of transitional power, a distance appears between the breadth of representation in the government image and the continuation of figures linked to Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham or the previous Salvation Government in a number of sovereign and security positions. I do not treat this distance as evidence of a specific intention, but as a phenomenon worthy of examination.
Then:
What does the distance between the facade and the position of decision do?
What do people see when the image of power is more plural than its actual network?
Does the image change the way power is read?
What happens when it is no longer clear where "the government" begins and where the military and political networks that preceded it end?
Does the distance within the image of power produce epistemic distance in society?
That is: does it make us see power, but not quite know where it exists?
And here I think we are approaching a very important question:
Can distance not only separate two things, but organise what we can know about their relationship?
We have, on one hand, the broadening of the representation image in the government, and on the other hand, the continuation of influence and figures linked to the previous HTS/Salvation Government structure in important positions. Also, women's representation in the transitional government remained very limited; a British report mentions only one woman out of 23 ministers and only six women among appointed/elected parliament members in the mentioned phase.
GOV.UK
There is also an incomplete political process: the Sweida elections were not held, and its seats remained vacant in the first electoral phase. Global Security
Global Security
Syria Direct
⬤ Three distances began to appear in the field:
The distance between bodies: regulating mixing, clothing, movement, and women's public presence.
The distance between regions: closing roads, disrupting access, cutting communications and services, and the transformation of access to Sweida into a political and security matter.
The distance within the image of power: the broadening of the government representation image alongside the continuation of figures linked to the previous HTS/SSG networks in sovereign and security positions.
What does distance do when it becomes part of the way the body, place, and image of power are organised?
Does it separate?
Or prevent access?
Or redistribute movement?
Or reshape what can be seen and known?
And can distance itself be one of power's tools before violence appears in its clearest form?
⬤ A Very Important Methodological Note
I also found that some news contradicts in interpreting the same events. For example, in the Sweida siege case, there are sources describing the situation as a siege imposed by the authorities, while other sources convey a government denial or different local interpretations of the causes of material shortages.
Al Jazeera
Enab Baladi
And this is not a flaw in our file.
This is itself field material.
Because we are not only studying the distance that occurs on the ground, but perhaps also the distance between the narratives that describe what is happening on the ground.
And here I began to feel that the "third distance" might be slightly broader than I thought.
Not only:
government image ↔ reality of power
But perhaps:
event ↔ narrative about it ↔ what people can know about it.
⬤ Appendix to Field Note-001
Who are the persons who moved from previous military/administrative positions to government positions? What is the nature of the positions they occupied? And how did their image change when they moved from the position of an armed/local actor to an official position?
1. Persons: From a Previous Position to an Official Position
Who are the persons who moved from previous military/administrative positions to government positions? What is the nature of the positions they occupied? And how did their image change when they moved from the position of an armed/local actor to an official position?
1. Persons: From a Previous Position to an Official Position
| Person | Before the transition | After the transition | What happened to the image? | Soma question |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mohammed al-Bashir | Was head of the Syrian Salvation Government in Idlib, an administration linked to Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham | Appointed head of the transitional government on 10 December 2024 | Moved from a regional administration linked to an armed faction to the head of the transitional state government | What happens when a local administrative structure moves to the sovereign domain of the state? |
| Asaad al-Shaibani | A figure linked to the previous HTS leadership | Minister of Foreign Affairs in the transitional government | Became representing the state externally, not a local faction | How does the meaning of the person change when they move from the position of an armed/movement actor to an official representative of the state? |
| Marhaf Abu Qasra | A prominent military leader in Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, who led its military wing for years, after a path that began in Jabhat al-Nusra linked to al-Qaeda in Syria. | Minister of Defence in the transitional government | The previous military leadership turned into an official institution responsible for the army | Does the engineering of distance change when the actor moves from organising force outside the state to organising force in the name of the state? What happens to the image of force when a military actor moves from commanding an armed organisation to a position responsible for rebuilding the state's military institution? |
| Anas Khattab | A former leader in Jabhat al-Nusra/HTS | Head of General Intelligence, then Minister of Interior in the later government | Moved from a previous security/jihadi position to the head of an official security institution; in June 2025 he spoke about rebuilding security and changing the image of the security apparatus | What happens to the image of security when a former security official in Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham moves to the position of leading the state's General Intelligence apparatus? |
| Nazir al-Qadri | Was Minister of Education in the Salvation Government in Idlib since 2022 | Minister of Education in the transitional government | The education discourse moved from a local administration in Idlib to a state ministry; in December 2024 he affirmed that girls' education would not be restricted | Does the function of the discourse change when its owner moves from a local administration to a national institution? |
| Ali Keda | A figure linked to the previous HTS administration in Idlib | Minister of Interior after the ministerial amendment in January 2025 and on Monday 26 May 2025. His first official appearance in his position was as Secretary-General of the Presidency of the Syrian Republic for Council of Ministers Affairs. | An additional transition of a figure from the previous administrative structure to a sovereign security position | Does the process of transforming the previous administrative structure into the state structure repeat? |
| Yaacoub al-Omar | Held a position in the Salvation Government | Minister of Information | Became an official representative of the government image | Who produces the image of power, and who moves from being part of a movement to becoming part of its official image? |
The primary sources documenting these transitions are EUAA and Reuters.
EUAA records specifically that the previous Salvation Government was the main source of the first ministers, and mentions the names and previous and current positions, while Reuters documented Mohammed al-Bashir's transition from the Idlib administration to the head of government.
EUAA
Reuters
And there is a very important detail: the transition does not only happen in persons, but in the military structure itself.
The latest EUAA report says that many of the new military units were introduced while largely retaining their previous internal structure, and that about a third of leadership positions in active divisions were occupied by former HTS leaders.
EUAA
In a UN report, it was mentioned that at least 9 out of 23 ministers were directly or indirectly linked to HTS, and that four of them had military roles within the organisation, with reference to the continued concern of some states about the presence of individuals with previous ideological ties to al-Qaeda within the new structure.
Digital library
And here I want to be very careful with the phrase "their image changed."
We do not yet know what happened in the consciousness of each person or society towards them.
But we can see something observable:
The position changed.
Local leader/official → minister.
Military leader → minister of defence.
Former security official → intelligence/interior apparatus.
Local media official → minister of information.
And this alone is field material.
2. The Timeline of the Three Distances
Reading key:
🟥 Between bodies
🟦 Between regions — Sweida
🟨 Within the image of power
EUAA records specifically that the previous Salvation Government was the main source of the first ministers, and mentions the names and previous and current positions, while Reuters documented Mohammed al-Bashir's transition from the Idlib administration to the head of government.
EUAA
Reuters
And there is a very important detail: the transition does not only happen in persons, but in the military structure itself.
The latest EUAA report says that many of the new military units were introduced while largely retaining their previous internal structure, and that about a third of leadership positions in active divisions were occupied by former HTS leaders.
EUAA
In a UN report, it was mentioned that at least 9 out of 23 ministers were directly or indirectly linked to HTS, and that four of them had military roles within the organisation, with reference to the continued concern of some states about the presence of individuals with previous ideological ties to al-Qaeda within the new structure.
Digital library
And here I want to be very careful with the phrase "their image changed."
We do not yet know what happened in the consciousness of each person or society towards them.
But we can see something observable:
The position changed.
Local leader/official → minister.
Military leader → minister of defence.
Former security official → intelligence/interior apparatus.
Local media official → minister of information.
And this alone is field material.
2. The Timeline of the Three Distances
Reading key:
🟥 Between bodies
🟦 Between regions — Sweida
🟨 Within the image of power
| Date | Distance | Documented event | What we know / what was said | What can Soma ask? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8–12 December 2024 | 🟨 | Fall of Assad and transfer of power to a coalition led by HTS, then appointment of Mohammed al-Bashir as head of the transitional government | Reuters documented the transition of administrators from the Idlib administration to state institutions in Damascus, with early concerns about the inclusiveness of representation. Reuters +1 |
What happens when a local administration moves to the centre of the state? |
| 10 December 2024 | 🟨 | Mohammed al-Bashir moves from the presidency of the Salvation Government in Idlib to the presidency of the transitional government | The transition is documented; but the meaning of this transition politically remains a question. Reuters EUAA |
Do institutions move, or do power relations move with them? |
| 19–21 December 2024 | 🟨 🟥 | Nazir al-Qadri appears as Minister of Education and states that girls' education will not be restricted | He told Reuters that education is a right for both sexes, but he affirmed the continuation of traditional separation after the primary stage. He had also held the position of Minister of Education in the Salvation Government in Idlib. The Straits Times Reuters EUAA |
How can a discourse protecting girls' right to education coexist with the continuation of regulating separation between bodies? |
| 21 December 2024 | 🟨 | Appointment of al-Shaibani and Abu Qasra as ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defence | Both were from the circle linked to the previous armed phase leadership Reuters EUAA |
When does a military actor become a "state"? And what remains of their previous position? |
| January 2025 | 🟥 | Reports of posters separating men and women on Homs buses, and announcement of plans to separate genders in Damascus transport | Later sources for the British government confirm the existence of separation cases in transport, but say the practice was not official or consistent, and it cannot be determined that it was a central directive. GOV.UK +1 |
Why does the distance between bodies appear early in the means of movement itself? |
| January 2025 | 🟨 🟥 | Appointment of Ali Keda as Minister of Interior after he was linked to the previous HTS administration | EUAA documents the amendment and the previous link. EUAA |
Do we see here a renaming of the structure or a rebuilding of it? |
| 29 January 2025 | 🟨 | Announcement of Ahmed al-Sharaa as president of the transitional phase and dissolution of parliament, parties, the army, and previous apparatuses | EUAA documents the institutional transition and the beginning of a presidential transitional system. EUAA |
What happens to the image when power moves from a "movement" to a "presidency"? |
| February 2025 | 🟨 🟥 | The United Nations warns of the absence of a transparent legal framework for appointments and decisions, and that the administration is composed mainly of figures from the previous Salvation Government | The UN envoy said the absence of transparency raised fears that the government would exceed its temporary function. UN Press |
Does ambiguity itself create a distance between power and those who know how decisions are made? |
| March 2025 | 🟥 | Reports of more stringent religious posters appearing, and separation measures in some institutions | The British government collected reports on separation in courts, hospitals, and transport, noting that some measures were attributed to the government without sources being able to confirm they were central policy. GOV.UK |
How do we distinguish between a central decision, a local initiative, and social pressure? |
| 29 March 2025 | 🟨 | Formation of a transitional government of 23 ministers including figures from different sects, including a Christian female minister and two Alawite and Druze ministers | Reuters documented the broadening of representation, with the ministers of Defence and Foreign Affairs remaining from the previous government. Reuters |
Does the broadening of the image change the structure of power, or only its image? |
| March–April 2025 | 🟥 | Reports of separation of women and men in institutions, and cancellation of some measures after protests | The British government documents cases that receded after public protest, such as the policy of transferring female workers at Al-Mouwasat Hospital. GOV.UK |
What does the moment of retreat reveal? Who owns the right to impose distance and who can remove it? |
| 9 June 2025 | 🟥 | Ministry of Tourism issues dress guidelines for public beaches and pools, including the burkini or body-covering clothing | This is the first official regulation of its kind after the fall of Assad according to Reuters, with exceptions for private hotels, clubs, and private beaches. Reuters |
Is regulating clothing a regulation of the body only, or a regulation of the distance the body can occupy in public space? |
| June 2025 | 🟨 | Anas Khattab moves to the Ministry of Interior, after a previous path within Jabhat al-Nusra/HTS | Became head of an official security institution; in a later interview he spoke about "restructuring" security and changing its image. Market Screener Syriajournal.net |
What happens when a person with an armed security history redefines security as a state institution? |
| 12–22 July 2025 | 🟦 | Explosion of violence in Sweida; spread of government forces, road closures, collapse of services, wide displacement, and hundreds of victims | HRW documented the disruption of electricity, water, health, and roads, and difficulties in aid access; it also spoke of restrictions on the entry of international organisations. Hrw.org |
When does the region turn from a place into a restricted-access space? |
| 14–21 July 2025 | 🟦 | Near-complete internet outage in Sweida | Access Now, based on IODA data, documented the collapse of connection to near-zero levels during this period, while authorities said the cause was technical and logistical, and residents and activists accused the authorities of deliberate action. Access Now |
What happens to distance when people can no longer even reach each other with information? |
| 31 July 2025 | 🟦 | A UN convoy of 40 trucks enters Sweida with food, medical, fuel, and water aid | The United Nations documented the entry of the convoy to meet needs resulting from the collapse of access to services. UN Syria |
Who owns the right to open and close distance? And does aid itself become hostage to distance? |
| 4 September 2025 | 🟦 | Education crisis: 6,200 students from Sweida were unable to sit for secondary exams according to the Observatory, and more than 40,000 university students were affected | The source links the crisis to displacement, sectarian threats, and the conversion of schools into shelter centres. Syria HR Days afterward, the Syrian Women's Political Movement said that secondary exams had not taken place in the province at all, and that other students could not pursue their studies outside it due to security fears and incitement speech. The Syrian Women’s Political Movement |
Can the road become a condition for access to knowledge? Distance is no longer just a closed road. It has come to touch: body → movement → road → university → exam → future. |
| 25 September 2025 | 🟦 | Disruption of basic materials and flour, then entry of two aid trucks in limited quantities | The Observatory documented the stoppage of bakeries and shortage of flour, then the entry of limited aid via the Damascus–Sweida road. Syria HR |
How does distance turn into bread, flour, medicine, and purchasing power? |
| January 2026 | 🟦 | HRW report on the absence of accountability for July 2025 violations in Sweida | HRW attributed serious violations to government forces, Bedouin and Druze groups, meaning that control over the field was not from one side. Hrw.org |
Does the "distance between regions" have one actor, or is it produced by the conflict of multiple authorities? |
| January 2026 | 🟥 | An official circular was issued in late January 2026 by the Latakia governorate prohibiting female workers in public agencies and institutions in the province from wearing makeup permanently during official working hours under penalty of legal accountability. | – Official sources in Latakia governorate confirmed the authenticity of the circular issued by the governor on 25 January 2026, which includes all administrations, institutions, bodies, and companies affiliated with them and their administrative units. https://www.verify-sy.com/ar/factcheck/latakia-confirms-makeup-ban-circular – An official circular was issued, then re-explained as regulating professional appearance and avoiding exaggeration. – Legal and human rights objections appeared, against positions that considered the matter an administrative regulation. – Official reframing of the decision between bodies/power. The discourse shifted from "prohibition" to "regulating appearance." |
– When does a woman's body appearance become part of administrative regulation? – What happens to the limits of regulation when society objects to power's definition of the acceptable body? – Does the distance itself change, or does the language by which it is defined change? |
| June 2026 | 🟦 | 13,500 students in Sweida were unable to sit for national exams | The United Nations said mediation did not resolve the dispute over the exam location and access security, with continued absence of progress in the Sweida integration roadmap. Internazionale And the disruption to education has entered its second year. Reuters |
What happens when the right to an exam hangs on the question: who controls the road? |
| 6 June 2026 | 🟦 | Sweida students boycott exams after they were moved outside the province and the Umm al-Zaytoun road was closed | The Observatory documented the protest of students and families, and the closure of the road by groups linked to the National Guard. Syria HR |
Can "refraining from movement" itself become a political act? |
| August 2026 | 🟦 | Reopening of a southern road after continuous assessment of who controls the road and barrier locations | The United Nations described the road as possibly open one day and closed or contested the next. United Nations |
Is distance fixed at all, or is it produced daily according to who owns the barrier? |
| 29 August–3 September 2026 | 🟦 | Armed groups prevent Sweida students from reaching the exceptional session centres | The Syrian Center for Justice and Accountability documented road cuts and the turning back of buses, while Al Jazeera explained how preventing students turned into an internal crisis between the province's own residents. Syria Justice & Accountability Center aljazeera.net |
Here distance begins to separate the body from its right to movement, then to divide society itself: who prevents? And who is prevented? And who decides? |
| 11 September 2026 | 🟦 | Three buses prevented from entering Sweida at the Matouna barrier and purchases confiscated, including bread, according to a local source | The Sweida Documentation and Media Center said the barrier imposed restrictions on movement and the entry of fuel and imposed conditions on taxis. SDM Center |
What does it mean that even a piece of bread becomes something distance can prevent? |
| 5 September 2026 | 🟦 | The Sweida Documentation and Media Center reported that the Matouna barrier north of Sweida, affiliated with Public Security, prevented trucks from entering or leaving the province, while allowing limited quantities of food and vegetables. |
The Center said trucks loaded with fruit and building materials were turned back, and that the measure revived fears of a return to previous siege policies that restricted the entry of basic goods and fuel. Suwayda Documentation & Media Center And this point intersects with what we captured earlier: in February 2026, there were already two contradictory narratives about the "siege"; the Sweida governor denied the existence of a siege and said the road was open, while other reports spoke of a shortage of resources and fuel. European Union Agency for Asylum sana |
– Does fuel here become merely a commodity, or does it turn into a tool for managing movement? – What is the difference between a "security barrier," a "road closure," and a "siege"? And who owns the right to name the situation? و«حصار»؟ ومن يملك حق تسمية الحالة؟ – When does distance turn from mere geographical separation into a tool that produces violence? – Does the conflict over distance also include the conflict over the truth of what is happening? |
| 30 September – 21 October 2026 | 🟥 🟨 | The Ministry of Higher Education announced the 2026–2027 admissions list, which restricted admission to men in a number of specializations: legal and social sciences at the National University of Defense Sciences, security sciences, the technical institute for oil and gas, the technical institute for railways, radio and television directing at the media institute (Idlib), and military and naval engineering, including aviation engineering. Kindergarten education, nursing, and midwifery were reserved for women. | Until 7 October, no detailed official explanation appeared. On 21 October, the Ministry’s director of student affairs stated that the admission rules had not changed, that most specializations are open to both sexes, that the exceptions are tied to existing conditions or to the nature of the specialization, and that engineering, informatics, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence are open to both sexes. In contrast, academics argued that reserving some specializations for women does not justify excluding them from others, and reports noted that some of the restricted specializations are civilian. Reports also recall that some are open to female students at other universities, such as Damascus University. Reports list aviation engineering among the restricted specializations at two institutions, while the Ministry says it is open to both sexes. ALaraby Almodon Alaraby Syria.tv Aksalser |
When does an admission requirement shift from “the nature of the work” to a predetermined decision about who may enter a professional path? Who holds the authority to name the rule: regulation or prohibition? Are the specializations reserved for men and those reserved for women comparable in professional field and in power? |
3. Now We Add the "Third Distance" Instead of Leaving It as a Mere Idea
And here I want to establish something important: the distance within the image of power is not merely a visual impression. We have transitions that can be documented.
The Mohammed al-Bashir line
Idlib / Salvation Government → Damascus / head of transitional government
This happened within days of Assad's fall. Reuters itself noted that the administrators who had been working in a local Islamic administration in Idlib moved to government offices in Damascus.
Reuters +1
The Nazir al-Qadri line
Minister of Education in the Salvation Government → Minister of Education of the state
What is notable is that his first documented speech after the transition focused on the fact that girls' right to education would not be restricted, while he affirmed at the same time the continuation of separation in secondary education.
The Straits Times
This tension alone deserves to remain on the table.
The Anas Khattab line
Former leader in al-Nusra/HTS → General Intelligence → Minister of Interior
In June 2025 he spoke as Minister of Interior about the need to change Syrians' perception of security and restructure the security apparatus.
Market Screener
Syriajournal.net
Here a sentence appears that I believe we should underline:
The question is not only: who became a minister?
But: what history enters with them into the institution when they become official?
The Marhaf Abu Qasra line
Military commander in the force that toppled Assad → Minister of Defence
In March 2025 he retained his position in the expanded government that presented itself as more representative of Syrian components.
So the same person moves across two layers of the image:
war commander → statesman.
Reuters
We do not decide what this means.
But we record it.
4. And Here the Field Begins to Confuse Us
Because we discovered something that was not in the first formulation of the three distances:
Sweida does not present us with a "distance between regions" only.
In September 2026, the students themselves became the subject of two opposing distances:
The government says: the exam exists on its terms, and these are the exam centres.
Local groups prevent access to them.
Students want to reach.
Some residents reject the exam at all or fear the road.
And the result: the student body is stuck between two authorities and two political positions.
Syria Justice & Accountability Center
aljazeera.net
So we now have a new question that we did not have with this clarity before entering the field:
What happens when the distance is not between "two regions," but the distance passes within the body itself?
A student who wants to go,
a closed road,
an authority that says go,
another authority that says do not go,
and the body is the place where the result is implemented.
This is exactly the kind of thing I want to let confuse us.
⬤ Analysis of Field Patterns
At the beginning of the research, the idea was:
Distance is the extent of the possible.
But the field did not merely confirm or deny this idea. The field confused it.
Distance no longer appeared as one relation between two parties.
It began to appear as a network of overlapping relations:
The distance between bodies.
The distance between regions.
The distance within the image of power.
The distance between what happens and what can be known.
The distance within the body itself.
And these distances do not operate separately. They intersect, overlap, and produce one another.
By tracing the field timeline (from December 2024 to September 2026), six recurring patterns appear. These patterns are not "results," but temporary readings of material open to re-reading.
1. Pattern One: The Cycle of Advance and Retreat (🟥)🟥)
• What the table says:
• What the table says:
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| January 2025 | Reports of more stringent religious posters and separation measures |
| March 2025 | Reports of more stringent religious posters and separation measures |
| March–April 2025 | Some measures receded after protests |
| June 2025 | Official dress guidelines (burkini) |
| January 2026 | Latakia circular banning makeup. |
• The pattern:
Attempt to regulate → objection → retreat → renewed attempt in another form
• What is notable: The form changes from one attempt to another:
First phase (January–March 2025): Direct, informal, local regulation (posters, scattered measures).
Second phase (June 2025–January 2026): Official, administrative, legal regulation (Ministry of Tourism guidelines, provincial circular).
Conclusion: It is not merely "advance and retreat," but a transition from direct social regulation to administrative regulation. This turns distance from "social pressure" into "official rule."
• Soma question: What does this transition mean for the body? When distance turns from "custom" into "administrative circular," the cost of breaking it changes. Breaking it is no longer a "social fault," but a "legal violation."
2. Pattern Two: Escalation of Geographical Distance (🟦)
What the table says:
Attempt to regulate → objection → retreat → renewed attempt in another form
• What is notable: The form changes from one attempt to another:
First phase (January–March 2025): Direct, informal, local regulation (posters, scattered measures).
Second phase (June 2025–January 2026): Official, administrative, legal regulation (Ministry of Tourism guidelines, provincial circular).
Conclusion: It is not merely "advance and retreat," but a transition from direct social regulation to administrative regulation. This turns distance from "social pressure" into "official rule."
• Soma question: What does this transition mean for the body? When distance turns from "custom" into "administrative circular," the cost of breaking it changes. Breaking it is no longer a "social fault," but a "legal violation."
2. Pattern Two: Escalation of Geographical Distance (🟦)
What the table says:
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| July 2025 | Violence + road closures + collapse of services + internet outage |
| September 2025 | Flour crisis + 6,200 students deprived of exams |
| January 2026 | Absence of accountability for July violations |
| June 2026 | 13,500 students deprived + exam boycott |
| August–September 2026 | Active prevention of students + confiscation of bread. |
• The pattern:
Passive closure → service crisis → deprivation of education → active prevention → confiscation of basic materials
• What is notable: Geographical distance does not recede, but transforms:
From "closed road" to "deprived education."
From "deprived education" to "blocked future."
From "blocked future" to "active prevention of movement."
• Conclusion: Geographical distance transfers from infrastructure to the body directly. It is no longer only a "road," but has become a condition for access to rights.
• Soma question: What happens to the student body when "the exam" becomes conditional on "who controls the road"? The body is no longer deprived of education only, but of its right to the future.
3. Pattern Three: The Gap Between Image and Structure (🟨)
• What the table says:
Passive closure → service crisis → deprivation of education → active prevention → confiscation of basic materials
• What is notable: Geographical distance does not recede, but transforms:
From "closed road" to "deprived education."
From "deprived education" to "blocked future."
From "blocked future" to "active prevention of movement."
• Conclusion: Geographical distance transfers from infrastructure to the body directly. It is no longer only a "road," but has become a condition for access to rights.
• Soma question: What happens to the student body when "the exam" becomes conditional on "who controls the road"? The body is no longer deprived of education only, but of its right to the future.
3. Pattern Three: The Gap Between Image and Structure (🟨)
• What the table says:
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| December 2024 | Appointment of al-Bashir + al-Shaibani + Abu Qasra |
| January 2025 | Appointment of Ali Keda + dissolution of parliament |
| March 2025 | Government of 23 ministers (broader representation) |
| June 2025 | Anas Khattab to Interior. |
• The pattern:
Broadening image → continuation of structure → renaming → epistemic distance
• What is notable: The image broadens (23 ministers, sect representation, a Christian female minister), but the security and sovereign structure remains (9 of 23 linked to HTS, Minister of Defence from the previous military leadership).
• Conclusion: Distance is not produced by the absence of representation, but by the gap between image and structure. People see a diverse government, but they do not know who actually holds the decision.
• Soma question: What does it mean to see power but not know where it exists? This produces epistemic distance: the body does not know whom to address, whom to ask, whom to fear.
4. Pattern Four: The Intertwining of the Three Distances
This is the pattern that changes the concept from its roots.
Broadening image → continuation of structure → renaming → epistemic distance
• What is notable: The image broadens (23 ministers, sect representation, a Christian female minister), but the security and sovereign structure remains (9 of 23 linked to HTS, Minister of Defence from the previous military leadership).
• Conclusion: Distance is not produced by the absence of representation, but by the gap between image and structure. People see a diverse government, but they do not know who actually holds the decision.
• Soma question: What does it mean to see power but not know where it exists? This produces epistemic distance: the body does not know whom to address, whom to ask, whom to fear.
4. Pattern Four: The Intertwining of the Three Distances
This is the pattern that changes the concept from its roots.
| Date | 🟥 | 🟦 | 🟨 | Intertwining |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 2025 | Separation posters | — | Appointment of Ali Keda | The distance between bodies is produced at the same time that the security power structure is re-engineered |
| March 2025 | Separation measures | — | Government of 23 ministers | The broadening of the government image coincides with the tightening of separation measures |
| June 2025 | Dress guidelines | — | Anas Khattab to Interior | Regulating the woman's body coincides with strengthening the security institution |
| July 2025 | — | Violence + closure | — | Violence in Sweida produces geographical distance that re-organises the distance between bodies within the region |
| June 2026 | — | 13,500 students deprived | — | Preventing students from exams reproduces the distance between bodies (who moves? who is prevented?) |
• The pattern:
The three distances do not operate separately. They intertwine and intersect:
Distance between bodies (🟥) is produced at the same time that power (🟨) is re-engineered. Is this a coincidence? Or is regulating the body a condition for rebuilding power?
Geographical distance (🟦) produces distance between bodies within the same region. When buses are prevented, it is not "students" as a category who are harmed, but new distances are formed: who can reach? who cannot? who prevents? who is prevented?
Distance within power (🟨) produces epistemic distance: when people do not know who decides, they begin to organise themselves according to probability. This reproduces the distance between bodies without a direct command.
• The most important conclusion:
Distance is not one relation, but a network of overlapping relations. The distance between bodies produces geographical distance. Geographical distance produces epistemic distance. Epistemic distance produces distance within power. And power reproduces the distance between bodies.
This is not a straight line (A ← B ← C), but a vicious circle:
🟥 → 🟦 → 🟨 → 🟥 → …
5. Pattern Five: The Body as a Site of Implementation
• What the table says:
The three distances do not operate separately. They intertwine and intersect:
Distance between bodies (🟥) is produced at the same time that power (🟨) is re-engineered. Is this a coincidence? Or is regulating the body a condition for rebuilding power?
Geographical distance (🟦) produces distance between bodies within the same region. When buses are prevented, it is not "students" as a category who are harmed, but new distances are formed: who can reach? who cannot? who prevents? who is prevented?
Distance within power (🟨) produces epistemic distance: when people do not know who decides, they begin to organise themselves according to probability. This reproduces the distance between bodies without a direct command.
• The most important conclusion:
Distance is not one relation, but a network of overlapping relations. The distance between bodies produces geographical distance. Geographical distance produces epistemic distance. Epistemic distance produces distance within power. And power reproduces the distance between bodies.
This is not a straight line (A ← B ← C), but a vicious circle:
🟥 → 🟦 → 🟨 → 🟥 → …
5. Pattern Five: The Body as a Site of Implementation
• What the table says:
| Date | Event | The Body |
|---|---|---|
| June 2026 | Moving exams outside the province | The student body is prevented from movement |
| August–September 2026 | Preventing buses + confiscating bread | The student body is prevented from access |
| September 2025 | Flour crisis | The family body is prevented from food |
• The pattern:
The body is not merely a "recipient" of distance. The body is the site where distance is implemented:
The student who wants to go → the road is closed → the body is stuck.
The woman who wants to work → the circular prevents → the body is regulated.
The family that wants bread → the barrier prevents → the body is deprived.
• Conclusion: Distance is not imposed "on" the body, but implemented "inside" the body. The body is the place where distance is realised.
• Soma question: What does it mean for the body to be a site of implementation? It means the body does not live distance as an "idea," but as a lived experience: fear, hesitation, waiting, calculation, refraining.
6. Pattern Six: The Production of Uncertainty
• What the table says:
The body is not merely a "recipient" of distance. The body is the site where distance is implemented:
The student who wants to go → the road is closed → the body is stuck.
The woman who wants to work → the circular prevents → the body is regulated.
The family that wants bread → the barrier prevents → the body is deprived.
• Conclusion: Distance is not imposed "on" the body, but implemented "inside" the body. The body is the place where distance is realised.
• Soma question: What does it mean for the body to be a site of implementation? It means the body does not live distance as an "idea," but as a lived experience: fear, hesitation, waiting, calculation, refraining.
6. Pattern Six: The Production of Uncertainty
• What the table says:
| Date | Event | عدم اليقين |
|---|---|---|
| February 2025 | UN warns of absence of transparent legal framework | Who decides? |
| February 2026 | Sweida governor denies siege + reports speak of shortage | Is it a siege or not? |
| August 2026 | Road opens then closes | Is distance fixed? |
• The pattern:
Uncertainty is produced not only by "absence of information," but by "conflicting narratives":
At the level of power: Is the decision central or local? (March 2025)
At the level of geography: Is it a siege or restrictions? (February 2026)
At the level of the road: Is it open or closed? (August 2026)
• Conclusion: Uncertainty is not a failure of communication, but a tool for managing distance. When the body does not know "who decides," it begins to organise itself according to probability. This reduces the need for a direct command.
• Soma question: What does uncertainty do to the body? It makes it calculate, anticipate, take precautions, choose a safer distance. The body begins to manage itself without being asked to do so.
⬤ The Living Testimonies: A Bodily Map Under Siege
Geographical distance was not merely a closed road. It migrated directly into the body and settled in its organs. The testimonies reveal that the body does not wait for a command; it pre-empts danger and prepares its tools. One female student (20 years old, Sweida) says: "I instinctively grab my phone, quickly, so I don't miss the news and know if the roads are open to go to school... I pack my bag for all possibilities."A woman (29 years old, Rural Damascus) says: "I wake up early, and I put on different clothes and a 'vest' out of fear of kidnapping, harassment, or being followed because of my appearance, and I carry all my personal identifications and a red pepper spray for psychological safety. What has changed is the lack of a sense of security... as I always assume the worst-case scenario.".
This state of alertness turns into involuntary movements at checkpoints. One student (20 years old, Sweida) describes: "I make involuntary movements, like checking my papers and my ID."The woman (29 years old) adds: "My heartbeat accelerates and tension becomes the companion of the moment. I check the elements at the barrier and avoid looking into their eyes to avoid being asked anything or asked for my ID. At times, my body turns into a piece of wood—a defence mechanism fabricated by the body to avoid potential danger."Another student (20 years old) describes the constant state of anticipation: "We look around with caution and anxiety all the time." We constantly look around us with caution and anxiety..
Distance here is not measured in kilometres alone, but by the exam that resides in the body. A student (20 years old, Sweida) says: "When I think about the exam, I feel it in my stomach."Another student (20 years old) describes the bodily difference: "The fear of crossing the barrier to reach the exam hall compared to students who live in safe areas."Another testimony confirms: "There is a huge difference between a person who is exposed to a high probability of not reaching their exam, and a person who goes to it certain that they will arrive... I feel it in my body.".
The siege does not remain outside; it dwells in the organs. A student (20 years old) says: "The shoulder muscles are tense most of the time."Another (20 years old) says: "Great tension, anxiety, and fear, residing in my mind and my heart... not getting enough sleep and anxiety... the siege is in my sleep."The bodily map is completed by the voice of a woman (29 years old, Rural Damascus) describing where the siege lives: "In sleep, in the middle of my chest, and at the bottom of my feet, where at times I feel I cannot even walk, and at the base of my neck.".
Here, the body appears not only as a victim, but as a site of silent resistance. One testimony says: "We try not to talk about the subject, especially at the university and in public places,"while another says: "We distance ourselves" when talking with classmates. The woman (29 years old) tries to resist the feeling of siege, saying: "My body tries to resist by engaging in any productive act to avoid the feeling of being trapped."She concludes with a sentence that sums up the entire meaning: "A person under siege can only be quick-witted for any emergency, and I fear those moments... Training for a 'fast reaction' is extremely exhausting; therefore, the nervous system remains in survival mode constantly, where survival practices are entrenched deep in the body and become behaviour or part of the identity and personality.".
⬤ What Did the Field Change in the Concept?
The field was not a site for applying the concept. The field was what reshaped it. When I entered the three spaces, I carried a first hypothesis: that distance is a field of possibility, and that the conflict over it is a conflict over agency. But the field did not merely confirm or deny this hypothesis. It changed it in three points:
First: Distance is not a relation, but a network of overlapping relations.
Distance no longer appeared as a relation between two parties. The field showed that the distance between bodies produces geographical distance, geographical distance produces epistemic distance, epistemic distance produces distance within power, and power reproduces the distance between bodies. This means that distance is not a result of a power relation, but is a power relation in itself — or rather, a network of power relations that intertwine and produce one another in an open circle.
Second: The conflict over distance does not stop at managing it, but extends to defining and narrating it.
The field showed that the conflict is not only over who owns the right to open or close the road, but over who owns the right to name what is happening: is it a siege or restrictions? is it prohibition or regulation? does the distance exist at all, or is it an exaggeration in the narrative? This means that distance is not only material, but also discursive. And the conflict over it is a conflict over truth itself. And here the question becomes: who owns the right to define distance? — a question parallel to: who owns distance?
Third: The body is not a recipient of distance, but a site of its implementation.
The field showed that distance is not imposed "on" the body from outside, but implemented "inside" it. The body is the place where distance is realised: in hesitation, in calculation, in refraining, in fear, in choosing a longer road, in not going to the exam, in not asking. This means that the body is not only an object of power, but also a site of its production.The body carries distance, reproduces it, and sometimes resists it.
Fourth: Conclusion
At the beginning of the research, the idea was:
Distance is the extent of the possible.
This sentence is still valid, but it is no longer sufficient.
For the field added more political questions:
Who owns the capacity to engineer the extent of the possible?
And who owns the right to name this extent?
How do distances intertwine to produce one another?
And thus the concept shifted from:
Distance → agency
to:
Engineering distance → distributing agency
then to:
Conflict over engineering distance → conflict over distributing agency
and finally:
Conflict over the narrative of distance → conflict over interpreting the reality in which agency moves
The triangle the research proposes:
Distance — power — narrative
Not three separate subjects.
But three levels that can intertwine in the act itself.
And most importantly: The field showed that these levels not only intertwine, but produce one another in a vicious circle:
🟥 → 🟦 → 🟨 → 🟥 → …
Uncertainty is produced not only by "absence of information," but by "conflicting narratives":
At the level of power: Is the decision central or local? (March 2025)
At the level of geography: Is it a siege or restrictions? (February 2026)
At the level of the road: Is it open or closed? (August 2026)
• Conclusion: Uncertainty is not a failure of communication, but a tool for managing distance. When the body does not know "who decides," it begins to organise itself according to probability. This reduces the need for a direct command.
• Soma question: What does uncertainty do to the body? It makes it calculate, anticipate, take precautions, choose a safer distance. The body begins to manage itself without being asked to do so.
⬤ The Living Testimonies: A Bodily Map Under Siege
Geographical distance was not merely a closed road. It migrated directly into the body and settled in its organs. The testimonies reveal that the body does not wait for a command; it pre-empts danger and prepares its tools. One female student (20 years old, Sweida) says: "I instinctively grab my phone, quickly, so I don't miss the news and know if the roads are open to go to school... I pack my bag for all possibilities."A woman (29 years old, Rural Damascus) says: "I wake up early, and I put on different clothes and a 'vest' out of fear of kidnapping, harassment, or being followed because of my appearance, and I carry all my personal identifications and a red pepper spray for psychological safety. What has changed is the lack of a sense of security... as I always assume the worst-case scenario.".
This state of alertness turns into involuntary movements at checkpoints. One student (20 years old, Sweida) describes: "I make involuntary movements, like checking my papers and my ID."The woman (29 years old) adds: "My heartbeat accelerates and tension becomes the companion of the moment. I check the elements at the barrier and avoid looking into their eyes to avoid being asked anything or asked for my ID. At times, my body turns into a piece of wood—a defence mechanism fabricated by the body to avoid potential danger."Another student (20 years old) describes the constant state of anticipation: "We look around with caution and anxiety all the time." We constantly look around us with caution and anxiety..
Distance here is not measured in kilometres alone, but by the exam that resides in the body. A student (20 years old, Sweida) says: "When I think about the exam, I feel it in my stomach."Another student (20 years old) describes the bodily difference: "The fear of crossing the barrier to reach the exam hall compared to students who live in safe areas."Another testimony confirms: "There is a huge difference between a person who is exposed to a high probability of not reaching their exam, and a person who goes to it certain that they will arrive... I feel it in my body.".
The siege does not remain outside; it dwells in the organs. A student (20 years old) says: "The shoulder muscles are tense most of the time."Another (20 years old) says: "Great tension, anxiety, and fear, residing in my mind and my heart... not getting enough sleep and anxiety... the siege is in my sleep."The bodily map is completed by the voice of a woman (29 years old, Rural Damascus) describing where the siege lives: "In sleep, in the middle of my chest, and at the bottom of my feet, where at times I feel I cannot even walk, and at the base of my neck.".
Here, the body appears not only as a victim, but as a site of silent resistance. One testimony says: "We try not to talk about the subject, especially at the university and in public places,"while another says: "We distance ourselves" when talking with classmates. The woman (29 years old) tries to resist the feeling of siege, saying: "My body tries to resist by engaging in any productive act to avoid the feeling of being trapped."She concludes with a sentence that sums up the entire meaning: "A person under siege can only be quick-witted for any emergency, and I fear those moments... Training for a 'fast reaction' is extremely exhausting; therefore, the nervous system remains in survival mode constantly, where survival practices are entrenched deep in the body and become behaviour or part of the identity and personality.".
⬤ What Did the Field Change in the Concept?
The field was not a site for applying the concept. The field was what reshaped it. When I entered the three spaces, I carried a first hypothesis: that distance is a field of possibility, and that the conflict over it is a conflict over agency. But the field did not merely confirm or deny this hypothesis. It changed it in three points:
First: Distance is not a relation, but a network of overlapping relations.
Distance no longer appeared as a relation between two parties. The field showed that the distance between bodies produces geographical distance, geographical distance produces epistemic distance, epistemic distance produces distance within power, and power reproduces the distance between bodies. This means that distance is not a result of a power relation, but is a power relation in itself — or rather, a network of power relations that intertwine and produce one another in an open circle.
Second: The conflict over distance does not stop at managing it, but extends to defining and narrating it.
The field showed that the conflict is not only over who owns the right to open or close the road, but over who owns the right to name what is happening: is it a siege or restrictions? is it prohibition or regulation? does the distance exist at all, or is it an exaggeration in the narrative? This means that distance is not only material, but also discursive. And the conflict over it is a conflict over truth itself. And here the question becomes: who owns the right to define distance? — a question parallel to: who owns distance?
Third: The body is not a recipient of distance, but a site of its implementation.
The field showed that distance is not imposed "on" the body from outside, but implemented "inside" it. The body is the place where distance is realised: in hesitation, in calculation, in refraining, in fear, in choosing a longer road, in not going to the exam, in not asking. This means that the body is not only an object of power, but also a site of its production.The body carries distance, reproduces it, and sometimes resists it.
Fourth: Conclusion
At the beginning of the research, the idea was:
Distance is the extent of the possible.
This sentence is still valid, but it is no longer sufficient.
For the field added more political questions:
Who owns the capacity to engineer the extent of the possible?
And who owns the right to name this extent?
How do distances intertwine to produce one another?
And thus the concept shifted from:
Distance → agency
to:
Engineering distance → distributing agency
then to:
Conflict over engineering distance → conflict over distributing agency
and finally:
Conflict over the narrative of distance → conflict over interpreting the reality in which agency moves
The triangle the research proposes:
Distance — power — narrative
Not three separate subjects.
But three levels that can intertwine in the act itself.
And most importantly: The field showed that these levels not only intertwine, but produce one another in a vicious circle:
🟥 → 🟦 → 🟨 → 🟥 → …
⬤ What Did the Testimonies Change in the Field?
The field began with documents. With decisions, closed roads, appointments, and numbers. It began with the events in which distance is managed. This was necessary to see the structure. But structure alone is not enough. Structure tells us how distance is organised, but it does not tell us how it is lived.
When the testimonies arrived, everything changed. The testimonies were no longer an appendix to the field; they became the material that reordered the concept from its roots.
These testimonies revealed that distance does not remain on the map, nor in administrative decisions. Distance descends into the body and settles there. The testimonies show that the road does not live in the mind, but in "the tension of the shoulder muscles," in "a heaviness in the chest," and in "the stomach." The siege is not merely thought about; it lives in "sleep," in "the soles of the feet" until walking itself becomes difficult, and in "the neck." At the barrier, the body does not wait for a command; it pre-empts danger with involuntary movements: "I check my papers," "I avoid looking into their eyes," or the body turns into "a piece of wood" as a defence mechanism fabricated by the self.
More importantly, these testimonies revealed that bodies do not merely receive distance; they invent their own tools for survival. The phone becomes an additional organ to check the road, clothes turn into shields, and carrying "red pepper spray" becomes an extension of a lost bodily immunity. One testimony describes this state with profound precision: "The nervous system is always in survival mode, where survival practices are entrenched deep in the body and become behaviour or part of the identity and personality.".
Here, distance is no longer an external relation; it has become an existential nervous pattern.The body does not live distance as an idea, but as a map of contractions, involuntary movements, and constant alertness. And here it becomes clear that the body, which was an object of research at the beginning, has now become the one writing the research. The body is no longer a recipient of power; it has become the site where power is implemented, and the site that resists it with small tools (like the productive act one person practises to avoid the feeling of being besieged).
These testimonies changed the concept at a crucial point: if structure tells us that distance is managed from the outside, the testimonies tell us that distance is also managed from the inside. The body is the last site of engineering, and the first site of resistance.
The field you are reading now is not closed. The testimonies received so far have changed the concept, but they are not the end. If you have lived a bodily experience with siege, distance, barriers, or closed roads, this field welcomes your testimony.
We are not looking for complete answers, but for layers of awareness. You may participate anonymously, you may skip any question, and you may stop at any moment.
To participate in the questionnaire, click here:
→questionnaire
Note: What you share is protected under the project's privacy policy. Nothing will be published without your conscious consent.
The field began with documents. With decisions, closed roads, appointments, and numbers. It began with the events in which distance is managed. This was necessary to see the structure. But structure alone is not enough. Structure tells us how distance is organised, but it does not tell us how it is lived.
When the testimonies arrived, everything changed. The testimonies were no longer an appendix to the field; they became the material that reordered the concept from its roots.
These testimonies revealed that distance does not remain on the map, nor in administrative decisions. Distance descends into the body and settles there. The testimonies show that the road does not live in the mind, but in "the tension of the shoulder muscles," in "a heaviness in the chest," and in "the stomach." The siege is not merely thought about; it lives in "sleep," in "the soles of the feet" until walking itself becomes difficult, and in "the neck." At the barrier, the body does not wait for a command; it pre-empts danger with involuntary movements: "I check my papers," "I avoid looking into their eyes," or the body turns into "a piece of wood" as a defence mechanism fabricated by the self.
More importantly, these testimonies revealed that bodies do not merely receive distance; they invent their own tools for survival. The phone becomes an additional organ to check the road, clothes turn into shields, and carrying "red pepper spray" becomes an extension of a lost bodily immunity. One testimony describes this state with profound precision: "The nervous system is always in survival mode, where survival practices are entrenched deep in the body and become behaviour or part of the identity and personality.".
Here, distance is no longer an external relation; it has become an existential nervous pattern.The body does not live distance as an idea, but as a map of contractions, involuntary movements, and constant alertness. And here it becomes clear that the body, which was an object of research at the beginning, has now become the one writing the research. The body is no longer a recipient of power; it has become the site where power is implemented, and the site that resists it with small tools (like the productive act one person practises to avoid the feeling of being besieged).
These testimonies changed the concept at a crucial point: if structure tells us that distance is managed from the outside, the testimonies tell us that distance is also managed from the inside. The body is the last site of engineering, and the first site of resistance.
The field you are reading now is not closed. The testimonies received so far have changed the concept, but they are not the end. If you have lived a bodily experience with siege, distance, barriers, or closed roads, this field welcomes your testimony.
We are not looking for complete answers, but for layers of awareness. You may participate anonymously, you may skip any question, and you may stop at any moment.
To participate in the questionnaire, click here:
→questionnaire
Note: What you share is protected under the project's privacy policy. Nothing will be published without your conscious consent.
⬤ Invitation to Research
These three shifts did not close the concept. They opened it to new questions. The field did not offer a theory of distance, but offered material showing that distance is not what we thought it was. Now, the work moves from describing what happens to asking what it means. From the field to research. From observation to understanding. From the body to the structure, and from the structure to the body again.
We now move to research: not to fix what we saw, but to test it.
[Research → engineering bodies, the field, and narrative in the Syrian field]
[Article → distance as a field of possibility and agency]
These three shifts did not close the concept. They opened it to new questions. The field did not offer a theory of distance, but offered material showing that distance is not what we thought it was. Now, the work moves from describing what happens to asking what it means. From the field to research. From observation to understanding. From the body to the structure, and from the structure to the body again.
We now move to research: not to fix what we saw, but to test it.
[Research → engineering bodies, the field, and narrative in the Syrian field]
[Article → distance as a field of possibility and agency]