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Football and Contestation in Beirut by Muzna AL-MASRI

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Football and Contestation in Beirut by Muzna AL-MASRI Political Theatre: Football and Contestation in Beirut by Muzna AL-MASRI Department of Anthropology Goldsmiths College, University of London Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) 1 I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the MPhil/PhD degree of Goldsmiths, University of London, is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without the prior written consent of the author. I warrant that this authorisation does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. Muzna AL-MASRI 2 Abstract This thesis explores the relationships between political elites and their constituencies, looking specifically at the emergence and production of a new type of political elite in post- war Lebanon. Based on micro-level ethnographic research amongst Beirut’s Sunni communities, mainly within Nejmeh Sports Club, I explore the crystallisation of the model of an ‘entrepreneurial elite’ as exemplified by the late Prime Minister Rafic Hariri, who came to be the club’s patron. The most popular football club – and indeed sports club – in Lebanon, Nejmeh embraced members from different social classes, sectarian affiliations and political camps. It therefore provided a rare fieldwork site from which to observe the negotiation of clientelistic relationships, and to do so over an extended period, including times of heightened political – and occasionally violent – conflict. The stadiums provided a theatre for the spectacular performance of politics, wealth and power, and the events which took place in them mirrored the interplay of both local and global transformations occurring over the span of almost two decades. My research argues that the post-war period ushered in a new ‘glocal’ model of political elite which combined a corporate background and the performative use of wealth with well-tried tactics of ascendance to power, namely philanthropy, sectarianism and clientelism. It is a model which amalgamated seemingly contradictory rhetoric and practice. Its rhetoric of professionalism, democracy, championing of state institutions, and nonviolence often paralleled practices of corruption, vote-buying, and the support of strong-arm racketeering. This model of an elite functioning at the highest level of Lebanese politics, moved the locus of power, as well as economic opportunities, into the control of an ever smaller number of people, marginalising both the power and roles of those actors operating further down the class and clientelistic hierarchy of relationships. Within such a hierarchy, public demonstrations of loyalty performed by those in the lower echelons of society served to simultaneously lay claim to the elite’s favours and to suppress alternative or dissident voices. 3 Table of Contents Abstract ....................................................................................................... 3 Table of Contents .......................................................................................... 4 List of Tables ............................................................................................... 8 List of Figures .............................................................................................. 9 Dedication .................................................................................................. 11 Transliteration and Terms Used .................................................................... 12 Glossary of Arabic Terms .............................................................................. 13 Acknowledgements ...................................................................................... 14 Timeline ..................................................................................................... 17 Chapter 1: Introduction .......................................................................... 20 A Game of National Unity ..................................................................................................... 20 Research Questions .................................................................................................................... 22 Clientelism, the State and the Elite .......................................................................................... 25 Clientelism, the State, and Democratic Representation ................................................... 25 Styles of Instalment of Elite / Political Patrons ............................................................... 27 Through the Lens of Sports ..................................................................................................... 29 The Sports Scene in Lebanon: A Bench Player ................................................................. 29 Sports as a Cultural Map ....................................................................................................... 34 Sports Literature on Lebanon and the Surrounding Region ........................................... 39 Introducing the Research Community ................................................................................. 41 A Popular and Anomalous Club .......................................................................................... 41 An Entry Point into Beirut’s Sunni Communities ............................................................. 44 Nejmeh: The Organisation and Community ..................................................................... 45 Research Methods ....................................................................................................................... 53 Participant Observation ........................................................................................................ 54 Interviews ................................................................................................................................ 56 Archival Research ................................................................................................................... 57 Summary of Thesis Chapters ................................................................................................... 58 4 Chapter 2: The Researcher within the Context ...................................... 63 Beirut Streets: Snapshots of the Political Scene .................................................................... 63 Introduction................................................................................................................................. 65 Choosing the Research Topic: Reframing What is ‘Already Known’ and Felt ................... 67 The Zaʿim and His Strong-Arm Men ................................................................................. 70 Private Sector Led Militias .................................................................................................... 72 Beyond the Moment of Crisis .............................................................................................. 73 Acquisition of Data: Studying Nejmeh Football Club (and Beyond) ................................. 74 Questions of Access and Positionality................................................................................ 74 The ‘Participant’ in Participant Observation...................................................................... 77 Data Analysis and Engaging with Anthropological Theory ................................................. 79 Beyond Policy Oriented Research and Analysis ................................................................ 80 Epistemological Field ............................................................................................................ 81 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 82 Chapter 3: Contested Club, Contested City ........................................... 84 Hariri and Tariq Al-Jadidah vs Nasrallah and Al-Dahiyah ................................................... 84 Introduction................................................................................................................................. 89 Football in Lebanon before Nejmeh (1900 - 1945) ............................................................... 91 Nejmeh, the rising star (1945 - 1975) ...................................................................................... 94 Nejmeh as a Haven in War-Time (1975 - 1990) ..................................................................... 99 Injustice and Nejmeh club’s popularity (1990 - 2003) ......................................................... 101 Nejmeh under new patronage (2003 - 2009) ........................................................................ 108 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 113 Chapter 4: Philanthropy and the Performance of Wealth ................... 115 Bulldozers in the Municipal Stadium ..................................................................................... 115 Introduction............................................................................................................................... 117 Point of Departure: The Characteristics of
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