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Sectarianism from Below: Youth Politics in Post-War Lebanon

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Sectarianism from Below: Youth Politics in Post-War Lebanon Sectarianism from Below: Youth Politics in Post-war Lebanon by Elinor Bray-Collins A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Political Science University of Toronto © Copyright by Elinor Bray-Collins 2016 Sectarianism from Below: Youth Politics in Post-war Lebanon Elinor Bray-Collins Doctor of Philosophy Political Science, University of Toronto 2016. ABSTRACT In this dissertation I examine why sectarianism persists among Lebanese youth. While much of the literature on communal conflict focuses on macro-level factors and elite-based explanations, I look to different, finer, levels of analysis for a fuller picture of how communal dynamics are reproduced, and why they persist—even where the literature would expect to find them lacking, such as among educated, economically secure young Lebanese, in western-oriented universities, or civil society movements. I argue that youth themselves, and particularly the young partisans of Lebanon’s political parties, play an active role in the reproduction and rejuvenation of sectarian political dynamics ‘from below.’ The networking, strategies, and activities of youth within their political spheres constitute a ‘feedback mechanism’ operating at the grassroots to reproduce Lebanon’s particular sectarian institutional configuration. I contend that youth not only contribute to the reproduction of sectarianism, they also help to renew and rejuvenate its appeal among their peers. I examine three spheres of youth politics: the university campus; youth-led civil society movements; and youth wings of political parties. I find that far from being the ‘blind followers’ of manipulative elites depicted in the literature, Lebanese youth act with more autonomy than is often assumed; generating new culture, styles, and social networks—all of which are imbued with sectarian affiliation. ii For Flora iii I also show that the politics of Lebanese youth are complex, ambivalent, and even contradictory. Youth pursue multiple agendas—not only sectarian ones. In some cases, partisan youth even challenge their sect-based parties to develop more transparent, democratic institutions. Their efforts, however, often get shut-down by political elites. Thus, while youth enjoy relative autonomy within their own political realms, the closer they come to the power of Lebanon’s elites, the more limited it becomes. This study contributes to debates on path dependency, the persistence of communal categories, and challenges dichotomous conceptions of youth politics. To understand the political role of youth as more than simply the “hope” or “threat” for democracy, I argue we must look closely at the politics of everyday life and grassroots realms, and take youth seriously as political actors in their own right. iv Acknowledgements Twenty years ago this summer I traveled to Lebanon for the first time. I had been hired as a research assistant by my undergraduate thesis supervisor, Paul Kingston. I spent the summer riding around the country in share taxis and interviewing the people of Lebanon’s early postwar advocacy NGOs. Little did I know that this trip would shape the next two decades of my life. During that summer in 1996, I met the people behind the Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections, the Lebanese Physical Handicapped Union, the Lebanese Association for the Blind, Green Line, The Lebanese Centre for Policy Studies, La Rassemblement Democratique des Femmes Libanaises, the Lebanese Human Rights Association, and The Lebanese Women’s Council, among others. I had the opportunity to speak to some of the most committed activists I have ever met, including Sylvanna Lakkis, Paul Salem, Omar Trabousli and Lina Abou-Habib–friends I still hold dear, and all of whom have helped deepen my understanding of Lebanon’s political complexities. I thank them for their friendship and for the many conversations –often over argileh– we have had over the years. It is Paul Kingston, however, whom I have most to thank. Paul first introduced me to Lebanon and sparked my passion for and commitment to the country. I am grateful to him for his continued friendship and support during my (long and meandering) academic journey which began, in many ways, that summer. I am indebted to the many incredible people who I came to know over the course of my research in Lebanon and the two years I worked in Beirut with the peacebuilding NGO, International Alert. Thanks to all the young activists, political party members, and university students I interviewed, and especially to the students and faculty at AUB who willingly sat down to talk and provided me with the opportunity to observe student elections on several occasions. In particular, I would like to thank the youth leaders of the political parties who were so generous with their time and insights during my research, often inviting me to their activities, to accompany them on trips, share manooushe, or sit-in during their meetings. When I returned to Beirut in my new role as an NGO director, many of these same individuals went along with my idea to form Lebanon’s first dialogue project for the leaders of the youth wings of Lebanese political parties. For their help or participation in those first dialogue sessions, I want to thank Makram Rabah whose friendship and support were invaluable, Samer Aoun, Rayan Aschar, Samir Ashi, Yousef Bassam, Mario Chamoun, Chadi Dahdah, Rabih Dandashli, Wissam Habschi, Hussan Harb, Rayan Ismail, Ali Joumaa, Julien Kamal, Rami Kiwan, Rana Khoury Elie Maalouf, Saleh Mashnooq, Mohammed Mattar, Dalal Moawad, and Sobhi Yaghi. I owe a special debt of gratitude to my dear friend Ayman Mhanna. Ayman’s unending commitment to Lebanon, enthusiasm for youth politics, friendship, and brilliance in analyzing all things political, has been a gift to me ever since we met. I also want to thank Joe Hall for his friendship and support of my work, Nabil and Sarah Shehadeh, Jim Muir and the Permanent Chinese Exhibition, Youssef and Lara Chaitani, Mirvat Abou- Khalil, Denise Badawi, Ali Chahine, and Victoria Stamadianou, Maha Awad, and Michael Huijer. I am lucky to also have an extended network of friends which originated in Beirut: Rachael Claye, Bill Rashleigh, Lucy McDowell, Christian Henderson, Eva Goes, Emmanuel Tongun, Olav Aanested, and Jim Quilty. Thank-you all for your friendship and the dinners that began in Hamra and continued in Hackney. Thank-you also to Nancy, Nell and Beatrice who brought me morning espressos whenever I stayed at Broke Walk. I met many wonderful people at the University of Toronto whom I also want to thank, starting with Richard Stren who supported my application to the PhD programme and to Paul Brykczynski, v Victor Gomez, Reuven Shlozberg, my wonder twin Bonnie Slade, Kristin Cavoukian, Mitu Sengupta, Dickson Eyoh, Sharazad Mojab, David Welch who came to my oral exam and beamed support from the back of the room, Edith Klein whose editorial expertise in the final months were invaluable, and Melissa Levin who’s been there, in solidarity and in friendship, from the very beginning. I would also like to express my appreciation to the administrative staff at the department of political science, and especially Carolynn Branton and Mary-Alice Bailey who never failed to greet me with warmth and a smile (even though I was often asking them for things). I quite literally could not have finished this without their help. My sincere thanks extends to my dissertation committee. I could not have asked for a better one. I am very grateful to Jacques Bertrand for the time and attention he put into reading my draft, his excellent comments and for asking me the best and most difficult questions. My thanks to Antoinette Handley for the brilliant feedback that was always delivered in a way that left me feeling uplifted. Most of all I would like to thank my wonderful and brilliant supervisor Richard Sandbrook, whose wisdom, patience, consistently excellent advice and sense of humour were exactly what I needed to get through this process. Right at the end Richard verbalized something that I have often felt: political science makes more sense when it connects to something in your heart. Thank-you Richard for seeing me through. I am lucky to have a loving circle of funny and deep friends who have provided me with steadfast support and fun throughout this long journey. Thank-you to Darren Sigesmund, Carolyn Switzer, Richard Cook, Gabe and Nora Switzer-Cook, Matt Garvin, Beth Pinsoneault, Steve Weinstein, Natalie Riback, Colleen Good, Laura Kennedy, the late Kim Herbener and Frank Cherry, as well as Phillip McKenna (for his notes about footnotes), Judy Dales, and especially my dear friend Diane Der. I want to say a special thank-you to my close and long-time friend Camille Stubel, for her unconditional love, support, and ability to always approach life (including its most mundane tasks, like printing out a 500-page dissertation) as an adventure. Of course, my appreciation goes to my weird and wonderful family, including my sister Claire, who dared me to put on a t-shirt that said “#LEARNT” as soon as they awarded me the PhD. I am deeply thankful for my incredible, and ever-supportive parents, especially my step-father, John Renner, who read every last word, was always willing to talk to me about it, and who sent series after series of supportive emails, cards, and random newspaper clippings my way. Having John in my corner doesn’t just make things like dissertation writing feel possible, it makes my whole life better. To my mother, Sharon Bray, who, by the way, raised two children on her own while doing her own doctorate and still managed to finish in three and a half years. Though I (sadly) did not inherit her ability for time keeping, I have still reaped the benefits of her undying love and support.
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