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The weight of History. Druzes of Lebanon, Druzes of Israel facing the State.

Le poids de l'histoire. Druzes du Liban, Druzes d'Israël face à l'État

Abstract : In the anthropological tradition inspired by Marcel Mauss of whom Marcel Detienne claims to be a follower, comparison involves the previous elaboration of social universals or patterns of thought transcendent societies. Grounded in a reflexion on two components of the Druze community (one in Israel, one in Lebanon), the paper questions the comparative method following two sets of problems. The first one deals with comparison between close societies, since the analysis does not imply transcending differences between social values or representations, but rather implies questioning the identity in order to construct sociologically pertinent differences. The second one, which is a corollary of this attempt to compare close societies, highlights the necessary introduction of historical dynamics as the not the object the comparison.