Contested ‘modernities’, unaccepted intermediaries? In between-men in settler colonial settings in/ from the Levant (first half of the 20th century)

From the very outset of settler colonialism, intermediaries played a crucial yet contested role, navigating between colonial powers, local societies, and transnational networks. In the early 20th century Levant, certain individuals (primarily men from non-majority population groups, and more rarely women) held unique linguistic and cultural resources that allowed them to mediate between imperial structures and local communities. While deeply rooted in their own societies, these intermediaries cultivated perspectives that extended beyond their immediate surroundings, enabling them to function as essential brokers in proto-national movements, colonial governance, trade, education, and diplomacy.
Mediation occurred not only across the Mediterranean but also within these societies themselves, (at times within a very same religious institution) shaping interactions between various social, religious, and political groups. These intermediaries, or ‘in-between figures,’ (Heyberger & Verdeil 2009) straddled multiple worlds, facilitating negotiations, adapting ideas, and often challenging rigid colonial binaries. Despite their indispensable role, they remained ambiguous and, at times, unaccepted, as both colonial authorities and (proto)nationalist movements viewed them with suspicion, questioning their loyalties and allegiances.
How to define this/ these group(s) of ‘intermediaries’, its delimitations and its (un)porous boundaries in a (settler) colonial setting? What were their multifaceted role in the settler colonial structures and their role in shaping, challenging, transforming these structures?
To what extent were they essential at a macro, miso and micro levels? What were the points of contact/ connections/ interactions/ impact in the settlers’ homeland?
Adopting a micro-historical approach, this short study does not answer these broader questions but examines points of contact, networks, and power dynamics that shaped the role of intermediaries in the colonial Levant settings (i.e. here the British and French Mandates Levant, 1918-1948). Focusing on two atypical figures of brokers, it explores how these figures functioned within and against colonial institutions, shedding light on broader questions of agency, contested modernities, and the limits of colonial control. The discussion focuses on two case studies from Ottoman and Mandate Palestine (1900–1937), illustrating how these brokers navigated between different socio-political spheres and how their presence complicates traditional narratives of settler colonialism and indigenous resistance.
This short analysis intends to contribute to the historiographical debate on settler colonialism by addressing some of its limitations in acknowledging intermediaries, the complex role of these mediators who shaped, to a certain extent, colonial rule and nationalist movements. Yet it is necessary to integrate more intermediary figures into the study of colonial structures to better understand the fluidity of power, identity, and cultural exchanges that took place in the early 20th century Levant.