Translational Praxis in Conflict Areas: Rearticulating Identity and Resistance in the Contemporary Middle Eastern Context

Abstract

This article examines the function of translational praxis in conflict areas, with an emphasis on the modern Middle East. Through an analysis of a corpus of translated writings from Syria, Iraq, and Palestine, the study investigates how translation functions as a politically and ethically complex practice that influences power dynamics, resistance strategies, and identity. The study employs critical discourse analysis and narrative theory to identify four major themes: ethical silencing and omission, translator visibility and agency, strategic identity reframing for global legibility, and translation as a means of discursive resistance and narrative repair. The data analysis reveals that translation in conflict situations is an active intervention that mediates disputed narratives and rearticulates marginalized voices rather than a neutral linguistic transfer. While engaging in acts that both hide and expose aspects of conflict realities, translators emerge as moral beings who negotiate intricate institutional and political forces. By emphasizing the complex ways that translation interacts with ideology, ethics, and activism in conflict areas, the work advances critical translation studies. Additionally, it supports reflexive and context-sensitive methods that empower source communities, with practical consequences for translators and organizations engaged in media and humanitarian translation. Ultimately, this study emphasizes how translation can be a transformational socio-political practice that rebuilds resistance and identity both inside and outside of the Middle East.