The Politics of Sectarianism in Postwar Lebanon - Paperback

by Bassel F. Salloukh (Author), Rabie Barakat (Author), Jinan S. Al-Habbal (Author)

The wave of popular uprisings that swept across the Arab world starting in December 2010 rattled regimes from Morocco to Oman. However, Lebanon's sectarian system proved immune to the domestic and regional pressures unleashed by the Arab Spring. How can this be explained? How has the country's political elite dealt with challenges to the system? And, finally, what lessons can other Arab states draw from Lebanon's sectarian experience?This book looks at the mix of institutional, clientelist, and discursive practices that sustain the sectarian nature of Lebanon. It exposes snapshots of an ever-expanding sectarian web that occupies substantial areas of everyday life and surveys struggles waged by opponents of the system - by women, teachers, public sector employees, students or coalitions across NGOs - and how their efforts are often sabotaged or contained by numerous systematic forces.

Author Biography

Bassel F. Salloukh is associate professor of political science at the Lebanese American University. Rabie Barakat is a PhD candidate in political science at the University of Edinburgh. Jinan S. Al-Habbal is a PhD candidate in international relations at the University of St Andrews. Lara W. Khattab and Shoghig Mikaelian are PhD candidates in political science at Concordia University in Montreal.