0
Dissertation Title:
The Syrian Refugee Crisis:
A Reification of State Sovereignty in Lebanon?
By Jessie Nassar
SOAS candidate number: 577098
MSc Middle East Politics
‘This dissertation is submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree
of MSc Middle East Politics of the School of Oriental and African Studies (University
of London)
Date of submission: September 15, 2014
Word count: 9,960
1
Declaration:
I have read and understood regulation 17.9 of the Regulations for students of the
School of Oriental and African Studies concerning plagiarism. I undertake that all
material presented for examination is my own work and has not been written for me,
in whole or in part by any other person. I also undertake that any quotation or
paraphrase from the published or unpublished work of another person has been duly
acknowledged in the work which I present for examination. I give permission for a
copy of my dissertation to be held for reference, at the School’s discretion.
Signature: Date: 15/09/2014
2
Table of Contents
Table of contents ………………………………………………………
Abstract ……………………………………………………….
Acknowledgments ……………………………………………………….
Chapter 1: Introduction ………………………………………………………. 1.1 Motivations: the everyday experience of refugees ...…………………………... 1.2 Defining the research problem …………………….………………………….... 1.3 Performing sovereignty through exclusion: the case of refugees ……………… 1.4 Thesis scope, aim and objectives ………………….…………………………… 1.5 Research methods and methodology …………………………………………...
Chapter 2: Conventional and alternative understandings of state sovereignty: an examination in the Lebanese context ………………………………………… 2.1 Conventional definitions of state sovereignty ………………………………….. 2.2 Problems of conventional definitions of state sovereignty …………………….. 2.3 Performing sovereignty through exclusion: the case of refugees ……………… Chapter 3: Examining Lebanese state sovereignty through the Syrian refugee crisis ………………………………………………………………………………... 3.1 The ‘no-policy policy’: a general overview ……………………………………. 3.2 Understanding factors influencing the ‘no-policy policy’ and their effects …... 3.3 The refugee as a “site of modern statecraft” ……………………………………
3.3.1 The ambiguities of the ‘no-refugee’ status ………………………… 3.3.2 The effects of illegal sovereign practices on the everyday life of refugees ……………………………………………………………………..
3.4 Analysing discursive practices and their effects ……………………………….. Chapter 4: Assessing the refugee crisis at the local level: impact and practices 4.1 The case of Bar Elias …………………………………………………………... 4.2 The case of Burj Hammoud …………………………………………………….
Chapter 5: Reconstructing or ‘re-deconstructing’ sovereignty? ……………….
5.1 Revisiting the ‘no-policy policy’ ………………………………………………. 5.2 Considering conflicting sovereignties …………..……………………………… 5.3 Revisiting the effects of sovereignty ……………………………………………
Page 2-3
4 5
7-14
7 8 9 10-11 11-14
15-20
15-17 17-19 19-20
21-28
21-23 23-25 25-28 25-26 26-28
28-30
31-34
31-32 32-34 35-39 35-36 37-38 38-39
3
Chapter 6: Rethinking sovereignty and refugees: a more constructive approach …………………………………………………………………………... 6.1 Conclusions and limitations of the research …………………………………… 6.2 Rethinking the refugee: rethinking sovereignty ……………………………….. Bibliography ……………………………………………………………………….
Appendix A1: List of the interviews conducted …………………………………
Appendix A2: Vulnerability Assessment map …………………………………..
40-44 40-42 42-44 45-50
51 52
4
Abstract
This contribution aims to deconstruct state sovereignty in Lebanon through the
Syrian refugee crisis. While mainstream approaches view sovereignty in Lebanon as
weak and contextually limited, I argue that the Syrian refugee was resourceful for the
reproduction of statist images through everyday practices of exclusionary and
arbitrary power. I reveal how the ambiguities of the state’s strategies succeed in
shifting attention on pre-existing gaps, towards the refugee. I also evaluate the
implications of the ‘no-policy policy’ at both central and local levels. The gaps caused
by the central authorities’ passive actions gave municipalities an increasing role in the
management of the crisis. To show this, I take Burj Hammoud and Bar Elias
municipalities as case study examples. I evaluate the extent to which sovereign
images were successfully reiterated at the local level, through coercive and illegal
practices among others. The analysis of the challenges on the ground, which are
exacerbated by the state’s official ‘no-policy’, unveils, however, the unsustainability
of the current management. I conclude that the need to adopt a more constructive
approach to the refugee problem would also allow for a renegotiation of relations
within the state, and hence, the reification of a more inclusive yet ‘de-centralised
sovereignty’.
5
Acknowledgments This work would not have seen the light without the positive impulse and encouragements of my Professor and supervisor Salwa Ismail. Her input was definitely what inspired a big part of this work. I owe my gratitude to my interviewees, including those I haven’t cited in the thesis, and without whom I would have not been able to give it a meaning. Thank you for your big insight, time, and most of all, for making me want to search for more. My gratitude is also to Joanna, my sister, without whom I would not have reached most of these people. I also thank all my friends who were caring, understanding and patient enough. I especially include those who gave me the time to think out loud, and fed me with resourceful ideas. A special thought to the two ones who constantly fuel me with “power” and “energy”… Finally, thank you to my father, mother and sisters, who inspire me everyday. And to my baby nephew, who accompanied me and calmed me during my field research, through his warmth and love…
6
Strangely, the foreigner lives within us: he is the hidden face of our identity,
the space that wrecks our abode, the time in which understanding and affinity
founder. By recognizing him within ourselves, we are spared detesting him in
himself. A symptom that precisely turns “we” into a problem (…). (Kristeva,
1991, p.1)
7
Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1 Motivations: the everyday experience of refugees
The seeds of this work were planted in the Lebanese Beqaa valley. During my ten-
month work experience with the Norwegian Refugee Council, the Syrian refugee
crisis became part of my everyday life. Going back to Beirut on the weekends, where
people enjoyed nightlife away from the hidden misery, I felt a sense of schizophrenia.
While I was witnessing how the thousands of refugees who daily crossed Lebanon’s
uncontrolled borders had become the local authorities and communities’ main
concern, Beirut was silent. It is from that time on that the humanitarian catastrophe
shifted my interest towards the state1. Having had the opportunity to work in the area
most affected by the refugee influx, which also happens to be a historically neglected
area by the state, pushed me to further question its seemingly absence. As I became
familiar with the situation on ground, I felt the growing gap between reality and any
applicable policy. In this contribution, the choice to focus on the state rather than the
‘refugee’ therefore serves, first and foremost, as a personal quest to understanding
what I had missed back on field.
1 My usage of the term ‘state’ refers to the ensemble of power structures linked directly or indirectly to the Lebanese central authorities, and generating forms of power performing on the refugee. I recognise the work of various scholars, like Salame (1994), Picard (1996; 2000), Makdissi (2000), Owen (2004), among others who analysed the nature of the Lebanese state, its ‘weaknesses’ and complexities. However, I use my own definition because my work questions the practices of existing state authorities in dealing with the refugee crisis, rather than the structure of state institutions.
8
1.2 Defining the research problem
In a situation of refugee influx:
“The host government is faced with a threefold choice in its response to each
event: it can do nothing, it can respond negatively towards the refugees, or it
can respond positively. When the government does nothing, this suggests
that it either lacks the capacity for action, is unwilling to act, or does not
consider the appearance of refugees as a significant matter for its agenda
(Gordenker, 1987). The government will probably react if the number of
refugees threatens to overwhelm local capacities, or if refugees threaten
security by encouraging local conflict or incurring the military interest of
sending countries”. (Jacobsen, 1996, p.658)
The Lebanese government’s response to the Syrian refugee influx appears to be easily
classifiable along Jacobsen’s categorisation. From 2011 till this day, one could say
that it did not take any official action. Its ‘no-policy policy’2 exasperated by its
position of political neutrality towards the Syrian conflict, commonly known as the
“dissociation” policy, have not changed. However, what Jacobsen’s argument fails to
portray, is that although the number of refugees has already overwhelmed local
capacities and threatened security, the government remains passive.
Whilst the exponential number of refugees was manageable at first, today,
Lebanon shelters more than half of the total number of Syrian refugees in the region
(UNHCR, 2014). In that respect, it is only fair to question the role of the state, and try
to understand its response, or rather, its no-response. With the absence of policy,
attention should turn towards what lies in its shadows, in other words, the daily
2 I use this term to describe the state’s lack of both the will and the capacities to adopt policies and a strategic plan to deal with the crisis. It has indeed become of common usage and is differently formulated by analysts; for instance, some like Malaeb (Interview, 2014) call it the “decision of no-decision”, while others like Boustani or Mufti (2014) label it “the policy of no-policy”.
9
dealing and interaction with refugees. It is from this premise that I consider the
principle of sovereignty to be important in a situation of crisis, a moment used to
define the foreigner as a national ‘threat’ to unity, security, and sovereignty.
1.3 Theoretical framework
Little attention has been accorded to sovereignty and displacement in the non-
Western world, while those drawing the link between sovereignty and humanitarian
interventions are state-centred (See for example, Weber and Bierstecker, 1996;
Krasner, 1999 or Haddad, 2008). As Soguk argues, this undermines the importance of
sovereignty on the one hand, and fails to admit that the state is neither “permanent”
nor “ephemeral” (Soguk, 2005, p.187). I believe, however, that Soguk’s approach
would be much more insightful if read in parallel with Jacobsen’s study. As she
argues, studies on refugee movements in the less developed countries actually put
very little focus on the effects they have “on host countries and communities [and]
relatively few focus specifically on host government responses” (1996, p.656).
As such, starting from Soguk’s consideration that the state’s boundaries are
not fixed (a view inspired by scholars like Foucault, 1988 and Mitchell, 1991), and
that sovereignty, hence, follows the same path; my aim is to evaluate the extent to
which the Lebanese state’s response to the Syrian refugee crisis contributes to the
reproduction of statist images. My analysis will draw on two main theoretical
arguments. The first explores that the “weakness of everyday stateness” in Lebanon is
countered by measures inflicted on the refugee to make “power highly visible”
(Hansen and Stepputat, in Hoffman 2011, p.25). The second is a reinterpretation of
Soguk’s reading in the European context, where he argues that state responses to
refugee problems do not necessarily produce a statist image more than they contribute
10
to shaping and reshaping relations and institutions (2005, p.233). By that, he
highlights that the presence of refugees has ambivalent effects: on the one hand it is
“disruptive (problematic); and on the other hand it is recuperative (resourceful) of
sovereignty practices” (Soguk, 1999, p.15). My attempt is to evaluate these accounts
in the Lebanon context.
1.4 Thesis scope, aim and objectives
In the absence of studies on Lebanese state sovereignty in light of the Syrian
refugee crisis, this contribution could serve as a starting point to further investment on
the topic. It will provide a new perspective to understanding practices of sovereignty
by shedding light on the importance of the changes caused by the Syrian refugee
crisis. This would not only be an attempt to go beyond conventional understandings
of sovereignty, but also an effort to perceive refugees differently in a country where
tension and conflict are an everyday affair. Although the role of international actors is
fundamental to the definition and understanding of practices of sovereignty, they
remain outside the purview of this study (See for instance: Eggli, 2002; Nathwani,
2003 and Haddad, 2008). The research focuses on practices committed by national
actors representing the state directly or indirectly.
The work will also constantly underline how the refugee helps statesmen to
cover-up existing gaps. Although I do not rule out the reality of the challenges and
problems caused by the crisis, I expose how Lebanese authorities 3 constantly
manipulate the refugee problem while adopting arbitrary measures that enforce their 3 The major role political parties like Hezbollah play in affecting state sovereignty generally, and in the context of the refugee crisis particularly (For example: see Charara, 1996 and Naufal, 2012) hence falls outside the scope of my argument.
11
power. Also, since the ‘no-policy policy’ and political deadlock describing at best the
political reality in Lebanon shifted the burden to local authorities, my analysis would
be incomplete if I do not assess the response of the latter. The crisis, in fact, enforced
the role of municipalities. Due to the immobilisation at the national level, they
became the “most active public institutions”, and an irreplaceable focal point to local
and international organisations (Boutani, 2014). Accordingly, to what extent has the
Syrian refugee crisis reified and reproduced statist images in Lebanon? And how does
this translate at the local level?
To answer my questions, I first revisit conventional definitions of sovereignty
in order to introduce the refugee as a new lens to reconsider the concept, and frame it
in the Lebanese context (Chapter 2). This will then allow me to examine the state’s
policies and everyday practices on the refugee, which I support by interviews I
conducted with reliable sources (Chapter 3). Later, I make a concise overview of the
effects of these policies, their translation, and reproduction at the local level, by
taking three municipalities as case studies (chapter 4). Chapter 5 provides a more
elaborate and critical reading of the two previous chapters. It assesses the extent to
which the reiteration of sovereign images is successful in the refugee context. It
reconsiders the long-term implications of the ‘no-policy policy’, and identifies
conflicting actors, who are competing to gain power through the refugee crisis.
The concluding chapter sets both the limitations and prospects of the research, and
answers the main research question. It aims at drawing lessons from the problems
highlighted in the thesis and forges a ground for a reconsideration of relations and
roles within the state.
1.5 Research methods and methodology
12
In my research, I rely on drawing a link between general literature on state
sovereignty, and a number of journal articles recently published on the Syrian crisis,
which I support, when needed, with newspaper articles. I also focus on the more
recent literature tackling main issues in Lebanese politics, including sovereignty and
power relations. My main source of inspiration, nonetheless, comes from the work of
Nevzat Soguk (2005), and Hansen and Stepputat’s edited contribution (2005). I draw
on their unconventional understanding of state sovereignty and refugees to apply it
within the Lebanese context by also referring to other insightful sources as a support.
Another enlightening contribution is the PhD thesis of Sophia Hoffman (SOAS,
2011), who deconstructs Syrian state sovereignty in the context of the Iraqi refugee
crisis. Hoffman’s work is, in fact, the only study I found applying those two concepts
in a country with big similarities to Lebanon, and takes a very recent humanitarian
crisis as a case study.
To strengthen the link I draw between theory and case study, and investigate the
aim of this dissertation, I use a qualitative research method based on semi-structured
interviews, which I present in a table (See Appendix 1). This method helped me
overcome the difficulty to assess and confirm the informal yet ‘formalised’ everyday
practices, which are fundamental for the understanding of the refugee crisis, but also
the Lebanese system. The method also allowed to provide more solid support to
recently published articles on the refugee crisis, which, if considered alone, could not
be as informing given the ongoing development of the conflict.
The selection of municipalities:
13
My three areas of focus are Bar Elias (BE), Burj Hammoud (BH), and Jdeideh4.
The criteria of selection are partly based on the latest vulnerability assessment map
made in collaboration with the MoSA and UNHCR (See Appendix 2), which
identifies the 242 most vulnerable areas, taking into account both refugee and host
communities. As the map shows, Bar Elias and Burj Hammoud are of the “most
vulnerable localities”. Jdeideh’s classification as the “3rd most vulnerable” is not
surprising as it hosts a smaller number of refugees, while it is the most at ease both
financially and administratively – this could be noticeable by merely consulting the
municipality’s up-to-date official website (both Arabic and English versions). Being
the capital of the Matn Qada’ (district), and “one of the main arteries of the region”
(English version of the website, 2014) surrounding the Greater Beirut, Jdeideh
comprises the security, judicial and administrative centres of the state, and is actively
engaged in community life. As confirmed during the interview I conducted with Jean
Bakhos, an active member of the municipal council, Jdeideh is handling the refugee
crisis quite well when compared to other municipalities (especially the security
aspect), despite its large population density (about 150 000 inhabitants), and growing
constraints (Municipality website, 2014). The interview was therefore more
informative of the general status of Jdeideh than the crisis per se. As the gaps in my
findings were completely filled with the enriching interviews conducted in BH and
BE, I decided, thereafter, to consider Jdeideh as my ‘in-between’ case-study-support
to balance my approach. In fact, although Jdeideh and BH are adjacent to each other
and carry many similarities5, the differences are also visible. While BH is part of the
Greater Beirut and therefore hosts urban refugees, BE is a large rural town located at
4 Also known as "Jdeidet, Al Bouchrieh, Al Sed", which are the names of the three areas managed by the municipality. 5 Urban density, socio-economic background, for instance.
14
the ‘margins’ of the central state. More details about these two areas are provided in
Chapter 4.
To explain my referencing method, it is worth mentioning that most of my
interviewees preferred to use both Arabic and English. While some citations are
originally and directly quoted in English, the ones translated from Arabic are either
paraphrased or translated between brackets. I make this distinction because the
statements I choose to quote directly have a revealing meaning in the original way in
which they were expressed by the interviewee, which actually serves the analysis of
my findings.
As shown in Table 1, only one of my interviewees wished to remain anonymous.
This research was conducted in accordance with SOAS research ethics. I have been
committed to maintaining the highest ethical standards of integrity, honesty and
openness.
15
Chapter 2: Conventional and alternative understandings of state sovereignty: an
examination in the Lebanese context
This chapter sets the theoretical ground upholding this thesis. It aims at
explaining the logics behind the conception of Lebanese state sovereignty through
refugees. I first draw on mainstream definitions of sovereignty. Then, I highlight the
problems these approaches unveil by relying on both the unconventional literature
supporting my work, and key features of the Lebanese system. This finally allows me
to fill the gap of mainstream conceptions, by introducing the refugee as an actor
informing practices of sovereignty. This hence leads the way to my case study
analysis.
2.1 Conventional definitions of state sovereignty
Generally, it is agreed that sovereignty consists of three main features:
“territory, population, and authority - in addition to recognition”; and two
components: domestic and international (Weber and Bierstecker, 1996, p.3). While
internal sovereignty is built through “context dependent state-government-population
relations that create distinct forms of governance on the territory of different states”;
its outside facet is “constructed through much for standardized ritualized interactions
based on the sovereign ideal and its underlying myths of popular self-determination
and the equality of all states” (Hoffman, 2011, p.9).
It is through these lenses that scholars view sovereignty in Lebanon, and
therefore, contest its strength. For example, drawing upon Krasner’s three forms of
internal sovereignty, Kaufman argues that they combine to create a weak state
16
structure in Lebanon, where society was born “divided according to political and
cultural orientation into various groups, none of which has been able to impose its
will on the rest of the society” (Kaufman, 2014, p.181). This categorisation deserves
some elaboration because it resumes well the main issues tackled in conventional
approaches to Lebanese sovereignty.
The first is “Wesphalian sovereignty”, which is violated when external actors
impact on domestic authority structures (Kaufman, 2014, p.179). Many scholars like
Salame (1994), Picard (1996; in Heydemann, 2000), Owen (2000) and Bahout (in
Picard and Ramsbotham, 2012) reveal how the blurred boundaries between domestic
and foreign agendas actually complicate the study of Lebanese sovereignty. They
explain how the French mandate created a system of dependence from foreign actors
and the Lebanese ruling elite, and ensured the formation and consolidation of a weak
and dependent military institution.
This undeniably undermines the second form, which is “domestic
sovereignty”. Kaufman defines it as the ability of public authorities to have effective
control over their borders (2014, p.179). Israel’s invasion of the South until 2000, and
the occupation of Lebanon by Syrian troops from 1976 till 2005 are two among many
other examples revealing the limits of this ability (Najem, 2012). Many like Najem
(2012) and Abdel-Kader (in Picard and Ramsbotham, 2012) argue that it is the Syrian
occupation which more specifically paralysed the restoration of sovereignty,
especially that neither Syria nor Lebanese leaders made serious efforts to demarcate
Lebanon’s boundaries.
Finally, the third form Kaufman analyses is “interdependent sovereignty”,
consisting of the capacity of authorities to regulate “the flow of information, ideas,
goods, people”, among other things (2014, p.179). As the contributions of Picard (in
17
Heydemann, 2000), Charara (1996) or Harik (2004) among others show, the Lebanese
war allowed for militias, but also other actors like Hezbollah, to exercise full or
partial control over the territories and communities they represent. Even after the
signature of the Taif Peace Accord in 1990, political parties, including former militias
maintained a territorial control strategy, creating what Hansen and Stepputat call
“zones of unsettled sovereignties and loyalties” (2005, p.27). As such, Kaufman
concludes that the Lebanese state was not “seriously concerned about enforcing
control over its territory, about excluding external actors, or about controlling the
flow across its borders” (2014, p.180).
2.2 Problems of conventional definitions of state sovereignty
Although these accounts highlight convincingly the limits of state sovereignty
through the three angles presented, they do not consider the incompleteness of the
concept, as underlined in Chapter 1. Along Hansen and Stepputat’s view, they do not
consider that the nature of sovereignty in the postcolonial world is “provisional”,
“partial”, and devoid of monopoly of violence (2005, p.27). Indeed, Cammett notes
well the commonality of this phenomenon in pluralist societies like Rwanda, India,
Iraq or Lebanon, where “communal groups are associated to different geographical
units” (2014, p.88). This approach entails the necessity to comprehend internal
dynamics of power.
Taking advantage of a paralysed institutional mechanism as a consequence of
the war, political leaders (including previous militiamen) infiltrated state institutions
by occupying the seats of Parliament and Government, to engage in an “unruly
struggle for power” (Ayubi, 1995, p.184; Karam, in Picard and Ramsbotham, 2012,
18
p.37). Instead of creating an inclusive participatory system based on checks and
balances, they appropriated public institutions as “private communitarian preserves
(chasse gardée)”, where decision-making depends on compromise, and where short-
lived crisis management superseded reform (Karam, in Picard and Ramsbotham,
2012, p.38). Hence, this allowed political parties but also other actors to gain a
‘degree of sovereignty’ and protect their own communities through provision of
welfare services. As Cammett demonstrates in her book (2014), this is typical in many
– especially post-war – developing countries, where governments do not have the
capacity to provide services to their citizens, for various reasons like lack of
resources, administrative deficiencies, or corruption (2014, p.219).
Although my focus is centred on the authorities’ practices and their official
policies, mentioning the role political parties play, is essential. Their activities from
both within official institutions, and through their welfare organisations do not only
prove the problems of reducing sovereignty to the three forms described earlier. More
importantly, their practices are sometimes revealing for the understanding of the
central authorities’ practices towards the refugee crisis, which is the aim of this study.
Besides, insofar as political party leaders and representatives play the role of state
officials, they contribute to the reproduction of statist images and discourses. Keeping
these issues in mind serves the rational of the following chapters.
Henceforward, the Lebanese state can be conceived as a “multiple and mobile
field of force relations” (Foucault, in Gratton, 2004, p.448). Understanding
sovereignty as the “effect” of the state’s actions (Hansen and Stepputat, 2005, p.7)
appears, as such, more promising. By de-centralising power and sovereignty, this
approach most importantly saves us from disregarding the state, which is, after all, “a
creation of our still-existing knowledge of law and sovereignty, and institutions
19
that are known as state apparatus [and] are involved in relations of power”
(Foucault, in Constable, 1991, pp.274-275). It would also prove the simplistic nature
of the mainstream arguments reducing understandings of Lebanese sovereignty to the
state’s dependence from regional and foreign actors. Hereafter, the continuous
performance and reiteration of sovereignty on a daily basis would be revealed as “the
basic referent of the state” (Hansen and Stepputat, 2005, p.7). My emphasis is on how
this reiteration is practiced on the foreign ‘other’.
2.3 Performing sovereignty through exclusion: the case of refugees
One of the main prerogatives of sovereign practices – undermined by the
general trend among anthropologists and sociologists – is the categorisation and
distinction of individuals (Fassin, 2011, p.222). In fact, Agamben considers the
process of inclusion and exclusion, what he called “bare life”, as the “very effect of
the sovereign decision” (Gratton, 2006, p.446). “Sovereignty includes those that it
has to reject for the purpose of excluding them”, he explains (Agamben, in
Hoffman, 2011, p.29). This infers that the state “needs bodies and “bare life”, an
imagined or real “other”, to continuously manifest itself (Hansen and Stepputat, 2005,
p.31).
“Bare life is produced in and through the fundamental act of sovereignty –
deciding upon who is and who is not granted status in the state – and thus is
politicized by the sovereign’s act of exclusion”. (Gratton, 2006, p.454)
Taking Agamben’s argument even further, Hoffman argues that the state’s inclusion
of exclusion serves the purpose of power holders because it emphasises the
20
“superiority of those allowed to participate” (Hoffman, 2011, p.29). As such,
refugees become the manifestation of its power to exclude.
Their presence, nonetheless, has paradoxical implications on sovereign
practices. On the one hand, it is disruptive because:
“Migration weakens a number of powerful assumptions and imaginations on
which the ideal of sovereignty rests, and undermines control over borders,
territory and population, which present the most fundamental attributes of
sovereignty (Hoffman, 2011, p.11).
On the other hand, it is resourceful because it allows the manipulation, or even, the
legitimation of exclusionary practices (Soguk, 2005, Chapter 5). It is that angle which
conventional approaches miss out, and thereby, fail to recognise “sovereignty’s
evolution as an organizing principle of power” (Hoffman, 2011, p.23). Accordingly, it
is that gap which I aim to cover, by analysing how the refugee crisis allows for the
reproduction of sovereignty through everyday practices of power. This reproduction
can originate from different entities dealing with refugees, whether embodying the
central state (for example: officials, ministries, security forces and army), or local
authorities (like municipalities).
Chapter 3: Examining Lebanese state sovereignty through the Syrian refugee crisis
21
Following the literature regarding conventional and alternative understandings
of state sovereignty examined in Chapter 2, a deconstruction of statecraft practices
towards Syrian refugees is addressed in this chapter. I first provide an overview of the
state’s stance towards the crisis. Secondly, I elaborate on key factors influencing its
response, and the implications they have on sovereignty. Thirdly, I closely examine
how the refugee becomes an everyday instrument for the construction of a
sovereign image, which is crafted through and despite legal ambiguities. Finally, I
show how the discursive tool used by officials and supported by the media veils both
legal and illegal inconsistencies, but shapes anyhow the sovereign image. As
mentioned earlier, details on the interviews I use to support my findings are included
in Table 1.
3.1 The ‘no-policy policy’: a general overview
“As the war in Syria continues and the number of refugees is likely to keep on
increasing, the passive approach of Lebanese decision makers remains the
rule, instead of using the policy tools at hand” (Mufti, 2014).
Conversely, in the early stages of the crisis, the Lebanese government revealed a
relative degree of engagement. For instance, thanks to UNHCR’s efforts, it started
issuing registration certificates to refugees (Naufal, 2012, p.8). It also prepared a
response plan draft dividing responsibilities between the Ministry of Social Affairs
(MoSA), the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education and the High Relief
Council. Nonetheless, the plan was never adopted because of Prime Minister Mikati’s
resignation, which resulted in long delays to form a new government (Boustani,
2014). Since October 2013, the MoSA reengaged in the Syrian file through schemes
including a project aiming at coordinating aid efforts to refugees, developing action
22
plans, and more importantly, assisting poor host communities neglected by NGOs.
(Malaeb, Interview, 2014). But as the Program Manager of this project, Makram
Malaeb, confirms, the “caretaker government” did not endorse the strategic action
plan his team developed, namely because of the “decision of no decision” (Malaeb,
Interview, 2014).
Nowadays, the lack of consensus among leaders is best portrayed by the
presidential vaccum, which dates back from last May (Now, 2014). Commenting on
the situation, Mikdachi (2014b) says:
“The amazing thing about the present situation is that despite the absence of a
legitimate government, the state and its institutions continue to function.
This is different than saying that politics continues to function, which also
does”.
Her statement can indeed reflect on some issues elaborated in chapter 2, where I
mention how decision-making depends on state leaders’ political calculations and
motivations rather than on a clear-set system. Although Lebanon’s host capacities are
oversaturated, which therefore impacts the government’s response, it is more the
absence of will than power which led to the aggravation of the refugee crisis. Whilst
the system “continues to function” as Mikdachi says, the heavy price of the
“disastrous policy of no-policy” (Boustani, 2014) is to be paid by both refugee and
local communities.
While coordination responsibilities lie in the hands of the UNHCR and other
UN agencies; practically, municipalities “were left to deal with the fate of the Syrian
refugees in their localities, taking responsibility for hosting and extending basic urban
services” (Boustani, 2014). Although a decree-law (no.118 of 1977) allows them to
accomplish a variety of tasks, and provides them with administrative and financial
23
autonomy, they are faced with major difficulties (Boustani, 2014), which I highlight
in the following chapters.
3.2 Understanding factors influencing the ‘no-policy policy’ and their effects
Commonly, many factors influence the policy responses of host refugee states to
refugee influxes. As presented by Jacobsen, these factors include relations between
the host and hosting country, the local community’s absorption capacity, calculations
about accepting international assistance, and national security concerns. Furthermore,
“host governments also struggle with bureaucratic politics, the position of refugees in
domestic politics, power struggles between government ministries and among
decisionmakers, paucity of information, bureaucratic inertia” (1996, p.655).
“After thirty years of Syrian hegemony, [Lebanon] remains profoundly divided
between adversaries and partisans of the Syrian regime” (Naufal, 2012, p.11). The
presence of refugees from Syria further increases existing sensitivities, as the regular
clashes in Tripoli reveal (Zahar and Yousuf, 2012; Naufal, 2012, p.18;
Christophersen, Thorleifsson and Tiltness, 2013, p.56). The ongoing battle between
ISIS fighters and the Lebanese army in the bordering town of Arsal – sheltering
alleged fighters among its refugee community – is perhaps even more telling6 (LBCI,
2014).
From that perspective, the “spillover effect” of the Syrian conflict is convincing
enough to frame the refugee crisis in security terms (Christophersen, Thorleifsson,
6 I happened to meet with a well-positioned state official (Anonymous, Interview, 2014), who was on a meeting with the Mayor of Hemlaya (a small village in Matn), right after the clashes erupted. This allowed me to notice the remarkable extent to which such security threats are being linked to refugees (Interview, 2014). This highlights the general confusion regarding the categorisation of vulnerable refugees who are being confused with extremist fighters (See Naufal, 2012).
24
and Tiltness, 2013; Lebanon24, 2014). Even more, it contributes to reinforce a
sovereign image, and ‘statising’ the humanitarian crisis by considering it a “specific
problem of the sovereign state” (Soguk, 1999, p.189)7. Nonetheless, this highlights
the confusion made between the humanitarian and political aspects of the crisis. On
the one hand, the government appropriates and identifies with the refugee problem;
while on the other hand, it justifies its unofficial yet formalised “no-policy policy” by
the principle of “dissociation” or political neutrality – which is anyhow questioned by
Hezbollah’s involvement in the conflict (Christophersen, Thorleifsson and Tiltness,
2013, p.51).
Another important factor influencing the Lebanese government’s response is the
political and security concerns behind camp establishment (Christophersen,
Thorleifsson, and Tiltness, 2013, pp.9-58). Without going into details, it is important
to mention that this position is animated by fears of ‘another Palestinian scenario’
(Naufal, 2014, p.7), which unveils ambiguities behind the recognition of refugee
status (see section 3.2.1). The transformation of Palestinian camps into ‘illegal spaces
of sovereignty’, which comprise “a complex tapestry of multiple and partial
sovereignties”, is indeed a major threat to the state (Hanafi, in Picard and
Ramsbotham, 2012, p.69).
The main issue, however, is that the government’s “no-camp policy” decision
of 2013 did not matter anymore; coming after about three years of silence,
“’unofficial’ camps were [already] flourishing in a disorganized manner in the North
and the Bekaa”, putting forward the “de facto rule” to enforce itself over the “no-
camp policy” (Mufti, 2014). As Vilet and Hourani further elucidate, “this makes it
very difficult for humanitarian agencies, government planners, and researchers alike
7 The examples I give in section 3.2.2 also prove how security is an efficient tool to practice exclusion (Also see Foucault, in Gratton, 2006, p.449 and Latham, 2010, p.186).
25
to have a full understanding of their numbers and needs” (2014, p.4). As such, the
“laxist” behaviour of the state – as the Advisor of the Minister of Interior, Khalil
Gebara, describes it – created new problems intensifying its loss of control: “82% of
refugees live in sub-standard shelter conditions [be it] on an agricultural land,
underground, in garages, and so on” (Informal interview, 2014). Moreover, the
absence of registration severely adds to these problems while, as Malaeb observes,
“registration is a sovereign decision; it is not only about knowing who needs what,
it is also about the right to know who is where” (Interview, 2014).
3.3 The refugee as a “site of modern statecraft”8
3.3.1 The ambiguities of the ‘no-refugee’ status
“The Lebanese authorities do not recognise the legal status of refugees, as it
has neither signed nor ratified the 1951 Geneva Refugee Convention” (Naufal, 2012,
p.12). It however abided by the non-refoulement principle, and pledged to adopt an
“open-border policy” (Naufal, 2012, p.12). The legal ambiguity appears when the
state considers the refugee to be a “displaced person”, while this category is not
recognised by Lebanese law (Naufal, 2012, p.12) 9. This only demonstrates that the
refugee problem is, above all, “one of categorization, of making distinctions”
(Haddad, 2008, p.23). It also confirms the statement of the Lebanese Centre for
Human Rights (CLDH) Director, who said that statesmen are using a different
labelling to designate refugees, “but it is a way to deviate the problems” (Asmar,
Interview, 2014).
An example revealingly displaying the legal ambiguities of categorisation is
8 Soguk, 1999, p.20. 9 Only the category of “asylum seekers” is recognised.
26
the decree the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities (MoIM) issued on the 22nd of
May. The decree proclaims to ‘de-register’ any ‘refugee’ who goes back to Syria and
enters back Lebanese territory. The decision is based on the assumption that this
person is not under threat to be considered a ‘refugee’ (MoIM, 2014). But as the
Director of Human Rights Watch, Nadim Houri, puts its well: “the state does not even
register. How can it ‘de-register’ people who are not even refugees?” (Interview,
2014). Given the debates caused following this decree (namely with the UNHCR),
Gebara confirmed that it will be reviewed (Interview, 2014).
3.3.2 The effects of illegal sovereign practices on the everyday life of
refugees
In an insightful article, Latham shows how the refugees’ lives are completely
dependent on the state “for being in limbo for refugee status”, or, like in Lebanon
where that status is ‘illegal’, for “seeking to change [it] from temporary or ‘illegal’ to
‘legal’ and permanent” (Latham, 2010, p.187). By intentionally creating restrictive
provisional status, state officials ensure that refugees are not incorporated, which
increases their insecurity (Latham, 2010, p.192). This undeniably generates legal
infringements, which are, according to Kristeva, the result of material constraints
(Kristeva, 1991, p.103) but also, I would argue, the consequence of the legal vacuum
in Lebanon. In fact, while security forces have the ‘right’ to close down businesses
that Syrian refugees are illegally opening (Van Vilet and Hourani, 2014, p.12), no
decree to prevent or control such infringements was issued in the first place (Asmar,
Interview, 2014).
Additionally, “the freedom allowed for the administration to take steps”
permits an “instrumentalization of the law”, which leads to the administration of the
27
refugee by the “least dignified forms of regulation” (Kristeva, 1999, p.102). The
words of Gebara and Houri could not be more revealing to validate these accounts:
“One of the strategies, which is maybe a bit racist, [and which is expressed]
in open debates but in a closed circle (already opened with the Palestinians) is
to make refugees feel that they are not living a good life. The more they
are living in a deprived way, the faster they will be forced to leave.”
(Gebara, Interview, 2014)
“Sometimes it might be on purpose: uncertainty creates fear.
When [the General Security] know they cannot deport, if they make their life
uncomfortable they will voluntarily leave”. (Houri, Interview, 2014)
Even more telling is when Naufal interviewed the mufti of the Republic about
deportation, the latter said: “when superiors are interrogated on this subject, one of
them responds saying that only people moving by car are admitted [to Lebanon], the
others are too “poor”” (2012, p.13).
While the government’s decision to stop deportation was respected for some time,
precisely after increasing pressure by watch groups like ICRC and HRW (AFP, 2012;
Whitson, 2012), Houri confirms that it was implicitly reversed (Interview, 2014; also
see Naharnet, 2013). Today, some refugees are still arbitrarily denied entry to
Lebanon; “it depends on the mood of the guy at the checkpoint”, Houri adds
(Interview, 2014). Illegal detention of refugees also continues in the General Security
underground cell (which is actually a parking lot), where punishment would oblige
some “to accept their deportation to their country of origin” (Rights Observer, 2014).
3.4 Analysing discursive practices and their effects In her thesis, Hoffman shows how the Syrian state’s reproduction of
sovereignty at the national level using a liberal discourse played in favour of the
28
reification of the sovereign ideal, and the strengthening of international sovereignty
by state officials (2011, p.79). Syria appeared as a generous unified nation whose
population warmheartedly welcomed refugees (Hoffman, 2011, p.97). Similarly,
Lebanese media and state discourses depicted Lebanon as exceedingly generous,
urging the international community to share Lebanon’s burden and increase aid
provision (Mikati, 2014; PressTV, 2014).
The fact that political parties and statesmen own most TV stations is quite
revealing (Mufti, 2013). As Asmar notes, this causes a big challenge to human rights
organisations; whether they are opponents or supporters of the Assad regime, “there is
a general trend [among citizens and officials] that refugees have become unbearable”
(Interview, 2014). For instance, Mufti (2013) provides evidence in his article of how
officials are behind accusation discourses blaming refugees for economic collapse and
increasing unemployment. This is unavoidably contributing to heating up already-
existing tensions, and setting a “spectral tone in public” (Soguk, 1999, p.223).
Regular incidents occur between Lebanese and Syrians, coupled with regular
testimonies of racist statements in encounters with locals (Christophersen,
Thorleifsson and Tiltness, 2013, p.43; Carpi, 2014 – See chapter 4).
As Mufti expresses, neither statesmen nor the media make serious efforts to
control “xenophobic” discourses expressing “racist sentiments” against Syrians
(Mufti, 2013). “According to some Lebanese political leaders, this “worsened the
security situation,” without actually specifying how and why” (Carpi, 2014).
Accusations that refugees are behind incidents of crime and theft have become very
common (Mikdachi, 2014a); “although Syrians are arrested on suspicion of criminal
activity, national statistics show that it is not disproportionate to the increased number
of Syrians in Lebanon” (Zakaret, in Christophersen, Thorleifsson, and Tiltness, 2013,
29
p.44). Asmar also confirmed that the numbers given by officials are over-exaggerated,
erroneous, and do not rely on any evidence (Interview, 2014).
The accusations which were also reinforced by the state’ usage of the security
argument were successfully translated through “the daily politics of individuals and
groups” (Chit and Nayel, 2013). Basing their findings on a countrywide opinion poll,
Christophersen, Thorleifsson and Tiltness’s study reveals well the wider majority’s
feelings of insecurity and instability linked to the refugees’ presence (2013, p.49).
Besides, Lebanese employers ceased the opportunity created by the increasing
number of Syrians in dire of work, to lower the wages of the national workforce
(Carpi, 2014). Hence, it is only predictable that resource scarcities and the general
strain on Lebanese society would further exacerbate “a class division of ‘we’ who
belong and ‘the others’ who do not belong in ‘our’ community”10 (Christophersen,
Thorleifsson and Tiltness, 2013, p.37).
Interestingly, this unveils the state’s contradictory stance towards refugees, as
I mention in Chapter 2. On one hand, refugees are sympathetically perceived and
welcomed. On the other hand, they become economic burdens who ‘steal jobs’ and
cause a threat to the entire nation, in addition to emitting “bad odours” and
“unpleasant noise” (Soguk, 1999, p.236). “The Syrian’s breath is not like ours”, said
Hemlaya’s Mayor during our informal chat (Translated from Arabic, Interview,
2014).
Hence, as Soguk notes, refugee images, “represented in an through the
vocabularies of “invasion”, “flood” and “plague” serve as fertile grounds of
reference” for the empowerment of states, specifically through “symbolic,
metaphorical, formal, and institutional resources (along racial, social cultural, and
10 Also witnessed with Palestinians (see Peteet: Knudsen and Knudsen, 1995, pp.168-185).
30
economic lines)” (1999, p.16). If he asserts, however, that the formation of discursive
images is based, first and foremost, on assumptions that the state is abandoning
citizens by spending part of the national budget on refugees (1999, p.223), the
problem is that the state’s “culture of diversion” – as Chit (2013) labels it – seems to
have won the game. Once more, “the ills of Lebanon” are relegated to a “stranger”
(Chit, 2013), which is leading citizens to shift their blame and anger towards the
refugees rather than the entities responsible of managing the both of them.
31
Chapter 4: Assessing the refugee crisis at the local level: impact and practices
As mentioned in Chapter 1, the refugee crisis led to an upsurge of municipalities’
engagement and action, which highly increases the challenges they face:
“70% of the 1,100 municipalities in Lebanon are small and with limited
capacities for service provision, in addition to being highly dependent on the
irregular payments of the Independent Municipal Fund”. (Boustani, 2014, n.p)
This concise chapter aims at assessing the ways in which the local authorities are
dealing with refugees. Since the analysis is dedicated to Chapter 5, I only gather main
information provided during the interviews. As I previously explained, the description
only touches upon Burj Hammoud and Bar Elias.
4.1 The case of Bar Elias
BE is part of the Beqaa governorate, which hosts the largest number of
refugees (UNCHR, 2014). During my interview with Malaeb, he randomly mentioned
BE and his statement is worth repeating: “some municipalities like BE are investing
all their resources and efforts on refugees” (Translated from Arabic, Interview, 2014).
In fact, while BE’s estimated population is about 50,000; the number of refugees has
reached about 70,000 (Al-Arab, Interview, 2014). Today, BE has about 12 informal
tented settlements 11 , which host a massive number of refugees. While the
municipality is reportedly cooperating well with local and international organisations,
its relations with local communities have unsurprisingly deteriorated. Having to cut
11 For more, see Save the Children, 2013.
32
down its budget to meet the demands created by the influx, it is increasingly accused
of neglecting its own people. Furthermore, locals and refugees alike are using
informal means such as rashwa (bribery) and wasta (informal connections) to outdo
formal procedures of service provision, or ease registration. As the Municipality
Support Assistant – employed by the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) – confirmed,
while local actors are already facing difficulties to enhance cooperation, new donors –
namely Qataris and Kuwaitis – form another obstacle (Interview, 2014). They make
distributions randomly – or rather ‘selectively’– and often use mosques and religious
organisations to get beneficiary lists. As Maita notes, this breaches the coordination-
triangle comprising local authorities, UNHCR, and partner NGOs (Interview, 2014).
4.2 The case of Burj Hammoud
BH is a densely populated area with about 150 000 inhabitants (Abi Saad,
2013). It hosts a large number of migrant workers and is considered the urban hub of
Armenians, who constitute 70% of its total population (Abi Saad, 2013). Since 2011,
BH attracts increasing numbers of urban Syrian refugees hunting for jobs. As the Vice
President of the municipality, George Krikorian commented, BH is paying a heavier
price because the Syrians it shelters have mixed backgrounds (Interview, 2014).
While NGOs are not very active there, political parties that are providing assistance
prefer homogenous areas having similar political and sectarian affiliations. Therefore,
parties limit aid provision to a selected number of families, whom they are able to
reach through lists they receive from unclear sources. Besides, the fact that parties
have conflicting agendas makes things harder for the municipality, since they are
represented in the municipal council. Also, like many other areas, tension is on the
33
rise due to increasing socio-economic constraints. This sometimes results in violent
clashes, such as the recent incident between some Syrian Kurds and members of the
local community. Consequently, the municipality imposed a curfew of circulation on
refugees and migrant communities, which caused strong reactions (Watch coverage of
LBCI, Future, and Al-Arabiya News, Youtube, 2014). When I asked him about that
decision, Krikorian said:
“Legally, we have no right to impose curfews and we are the 108th
municipality to do so. It was not an order as much as a “wish” [said in
English] to prevent clashes between communities and, first and foremost, to
protect refugees. This is why we later gave exceptional circulation permits for
people who are obliged to be out after 8pm, under the condition we put their
documents on hold”. (Translated from Arabic, Interview, 2014)
Even more, the clash lead the Armenian Tashnag party to order Syrian Kurds who are
opposed to the Assad regime to immediately evacuate their houses and leave BH in
May (Future News, 2014). This order, however, was neither issued in cooperation
with nor upon the consent of the municipality.
Overall, problems of coordination between different actors deteriorated as the
influx snowballed. Nowadays, Act 376 issued in May 2013 (MoIM, 2013)12 is neither
being followed, nor its application is monitored by the state. Furthermore, while
curfews are illegal and banned in a decree issued by the previous Minister of Interior,
many municipalities are still publically announcing it through leaflets (Houri; Gebara,
Interview, 2014). As Krikorian states, the situation of “laissez-faire laissez-passer”
drives the local authorities to “improvise” (Interview, 2014).
12 It calls upon municipalities to conduct full surveys including accurate counts of refugees and information about their location.
34
In summary, the burden caused by the refugee crisis is increasing the problems of
municipalities. This is particularly because of the state’s ‘no-policy policy’ and lack
of assistance to its local entities. As in the case of BH, these gaps have to be covered
by “improvisation” measures. This revealingly proves Hoffman’s observation: state
sovereignty is “constructed on the spot, by human behaviour” (2011, p.96).
35
Chapter 5: Reconstructing or ‘re-deconstructing’ sovereignty?
In this chapter, I critically assess my empirical findings in light of the previous
chapters. The analysis also revisits some main issues elaborated in Chapter 3. The re-
assessment of the ‘no-policy policy’ at the municipal level better informs the
implications on the central sphere (section 5.1). The combination of these effects thus
demonstrates the widespread character of sovereignty and its practitioners (section
5.2). Finally, section 5.3 consists of a reconsideration of the real implications of
sovereign practices, which, by initially operating on the refugee, end up affecting
sovereign actors and threatening their power.
5.1 Revisiting the ‘no-policy policy’
The overview of the effects of the refugee crisis in the three areas presented in
chapter 4 highlights noticeable similarities, which could allow me to draw more
general conclusions. The Syrian crisis not only proved pre-existing challenges faced
by municipalities (Boustani 2014), it also gave rise to new ones. Often, municipalities
are driven to take measures going beyond their capabilities, while they face increasing
infrastructural and socio-economic problems, and lack both financial and human
resources13 required to deal with the situation. Nonetheless, “the lack of trust on the
level of the central government” makes them a reliable focal point (Boustani, 2014).
As in BH, this enforces the local communities’ impression that municipalities give
some legitimacy to a government “perceived as totally absent” (Abi Saad, 2013).
13 The fact that the ‘representative of the municipality’ I was referred to when I scheduled an interview appointment in BE is a DRC rather than a municipality employee is a revealing hint to administrative shortages.
36
With regards to the state, the ‘no-policy policy’ aggravated the lack of
coordination and loss of control witnessed at the local level. Gebara’s statement
speaks for itself:
“As a person who works in the Ministry of Interior, I do not have a list
about which donors doing which project. I do not know. I have to look for
them”. (Interview, 2014)
Indeed, it is widely approved that the lack of control from the central level created a
duplicate system in almost each sector, and even reached an attempt to make a
“duplicate government”, Malaeb adds mockingly (Interview, 2014). The fact that
some of the suggestions made by the MoSA to improve crisis management are still
not taken into consideration is revealing enough (Malaeb, Interview, 2014). Besides,
it should be reminded that central-level duplication comes on top of the pre-existing
multiple welfare regimes created by political parties and religious institutions
(mentioned in Chapter 2).
Although it is undeniable that NGOs and other non-state actors are more
equipped than the state to deal with the crisis:
“What we have witnessed is the complete collapse of the state in terms of
response”. (…) [But] while the physical institutions are collapsing, the
political institutions seem to be safe”. (Malaeb, Interview, 2014)
As most of my interviewees agree, coordination is not solely related to the state’s
capacities, but more importantly, to political will. This reflects on the factors
influencing the government’s response, which I presented in Chapter 3; and, even
more, mirrors the nature of power relations in Lebanon – elaborated in Chapter 2.
37
5.2 Considering conflicting sovereignties
The example of the Tashnag Party’s order, or the unmonitored collaboration
between new donors and religious institutions in BE – among others – provide an
insightful lens to expand Cammett’s analysis in the refugee context. As she argues,
“most [parties] will not release even aggregate data on beneficiary characteristics”
(2014, p.86). As such, while they contribute to Lebanese state sovereignty insofar as
they operate from within the formal system and speak in its name, their informal
welfare and humanitarian operations follow an “extra-state” strategy14 rather a “state-
centric political strategy” (Cammett, 2014, p.3). By so doing, they created
“fragmented welfare regimes”, which hinder potentials to build national ones, and
cause duplication, social tension, and conflict between providers having conflicting
agendas (Cammett, 2014, pp.219-234). Even more, by filling a gap created by fragile
state institutions, leaders make the Lebanese state “less accountable to its citizens”
(Yousuf and Zahar, 2012). Krikorian confirms this by saying that “there is an attempt
to weaken central authorities” (Translated from Arabic, Interview, 2014). He adds:
The political side [of the state] intervened in the administrative side to the
extent that it paralysed it. When there is political deadlock, the
administration is also affected, from border control to electricity, water etc. If
the administration was strong, it would not have been affected by political
fragmentation” (Interview, 2014)
As seen in Chapter 2, political parties’ activities had contributed to a “low
trust in government” even before the crisis (Cammett, 2014, p.219). Even more, non-
state providers often take “full credit for services supplied with government 14 By this, Cammett particularly refers to the arbitrary yet calculated logics behind the parties’ provision of welfare services.
38
financing” (Camett, 2014, p.219), a problem voiced by Malaeb in the refugee context
(Interview, 2014). Besides, as the case study examples also reveal, the selection of
beneficiaries is less based on clear and fair standards (like degree of poverty) than a
“discretionary basis with over or covert exclusionary criteria” (Cammett, 2014,
p.234). Mufti’s analysis of the GCC countries’ humanitarian intervention is similar
(2014). As revealed in BE, they not only undermined the municipality’s control
capacity but also the international regime’s sovereignty.
All these facts point out to a more important issue, which Hoffman notes in
the context of the Iraqi refugee crisis in Syria, but is equally relevant to my study. As
she reveals, everyday practices of sovereignty create transforming and overlapping
power relations through which agents do not only govern “Iraqi [Syrian] lives, but
also each other” (2011, p.79). Many examples could in fact demonstrate the ways in
which conflicting sovereignties within different state institutions govern each other.
For instance, Malaeb mentions that the government still neglects some suggestions
made by the MoSA to deal with the crisis (Interview, 2014). Another example
mentioned by Houri is the arbitrary practices of the General Security, which
“implements rather than sets policies” (Interview, 2014). Clearly, these practices
enforce the confusion and loss of control caused by the ‘no-policy policy’.
5.3 Revisiting the effects of sovereignty
Reacting on the situation of deadlock, Krikorian said: “when there is a will,
there is a way” (Interview, 2014). His statement highlights two important issues.
Municipalities can either choose to include or exclude refugees. Either way, this
implies, in most cases, the usage of informal means and/or breaching laws, which are
39
anyhow ‘outdated’; as Bakhos attests, “if we stick to municipal laws, we won’t do
anything” (Interview, 2014). When law enforcement on banning torture, illegal
detention, discrimination, racism and curfews is nonetheless beneficial for refugees
and Lebanese alike – the chosen option was a “laissez-faire laissez-passer” strategy,
as Krikorian describes it (Interview, 2014). By allowing this, the state’s coercive
image reiterated at the local level, and contributed to reshaping the municipalities’
image. The local reproduction of a sovereign image through the use of illegal power
is for instance well demonstrated through the example of curfews, which was justified
by the same statist security argument. Besides, the fact that security forces are
informed about such illegal practices – and collaborative in that regards15 – is even
more intriguing.
Once more, I am driven back to Hansen and Stepputat’s argument: the
“weakness of everyday stateness” [is] often countered by attempts to make state
power highly visible” (in Hoffman, 2011, p.25). The restrictions imposed upon
‘others’, I argue, demonstrate the state’s partiality and “show its inconsistencies or
ambiguities”, which appear in the force of a mix between harsh policing and neglect
of illegal practices (Fassin, 2011, p.218). While ambiguities could feed the
construction of a sovereign image, and fortify it through local practices, the confusion
and loss of control they lead to consequently undermine practices of sovereignty.
15 Confirmed by all my interviewees.
40
Chapter 6: Rethinking sovereignty and refugees: a more constructive approach
6.1 Conclusions and limitations of the research
When I first started my empirical research in Lebanon, I underestimated the
difficulties I was going to face. Even though I knew that a full and easy access to
policies and practices related to the refugee crisis, which are mostly informal, would
be hard if sometimes not impossible in a short period of time, I was somehow still
convinced that there were clear-cut ‘answers’. The more I searched, the more I
became frustrated, even imprisoned by the ‘confusion’ and ‘chaos’ not merely
amplified by the state’s ‘no-response’, but also felt by ‘those who are supposed to
know’ what is happening. It even made me doubt whether I was looking for the ‘right
sources’, whether I was doing enough, feeling constantly insecure about the
informality and spontaneity of my field research. I had almost forgotten what it is like
to ‘live in Lebanon’, to ‘be Lebanese’. It was not until the very last interview I
conducted with Houri (Interview, 2014), that I accepted the reality of the response to
the crisis, as it is: chaotic, confusing, and ambiguous. I was even relieved when he
confirmed that “the ambiguity and confusion are a challenge for research”, which
might be masochist for someone who was seeking answers. But this is when I realised
that there are neither clear-cut answers nor ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ sources. This is when I
also knew that my research had not come to a closure; it has just started.
This research verified Hansen and Stepputat’s conclusion that the “weakness
of everyday stateness” is countered by measures to make “power highly visible” (in
Hoffman, 2011, p.25). The literature on conventional approaches to state sovereignty,
41
which reveal the weakness of stateness in Lebanon, was investigated in Chapter 2.
The evaluation of sovereignty through the three forms elaborated by Kaufman (2014)
confirmed the limits of the state’s capacity to control its border, population and
territory, among other things. By not taking into account contextual factors affecting
the evolution of sovereignty, however, these accounts neglect the importance of statist
attempts to make power visible (Hansen and Stepputat, 2005; Soguk; 2005; Hoffman,
2011). By introducing the refugee as a new lens to study sovereignty in the Lebanese
context, I tried to prove that sovereignty should be de-centralised (Foucault, in
Constable, 1991). In fact, the performance of various exclusionary and arbitrary
practices on the Syrian refugee, reified coercive statist images. In a sense the Syrian
refugee became an ‘easy way-out’ for officials to cover-up or silence pre-existing yet
increasing gaps, namely by shifting blames and concerns.
Evaluating the consequences of these measures at both central and local
levels, the long-term efficiency of the informal ‘no-policy policy’ and everyday statist
practices is nonetheless questionable. This allowed me to support the second objective
of this research, which is to reveal the ambivalent effects of refugees on sovereignty
practices (Soguk, 1991). The Syrian crisis highlighted administrative and financial
deficiencies at the local level. Still, it revealed the importance of municipalities and
their potential to “address semi-urban and urban issues and plan for the future, despite
the lack of a national policy” (Boustani, 2014). The problem is that this potential
cannot be developed without the active engagement of central authorities.
“Unclear policies give sometimes the space for those who do not fall in the
trap. But clearly, that model is unsustainable. What we need is a policy
which we can scale up. With the absence of this, the Lebanese state is
hampering the creation of a proper refugee policy. From a security
perspective, it is very naïve and stupid. We are pushing an entire refugee
42
population underground, creating areas where different rules apply although
not written”. (Houri, Interview, 2014)
The crisis has indeed proven that all actors involved, including international NGOs,
are unable to meet the demands alone without a solid and sustainable strategy that
should be set by the Lebanese authorities – especially when shortages and demands
are exponentially increasing. As such, I believe that the suggestion made by many to
decentralise decision-making16 cannot be a ‘solution’ to the problem, when the
essence of the problem is the absence of decision-making. Only through a cooperation
mechanism aiming to a whole-scale approach, a systematisation of intervention
through the creation of pathways and the strengthening of already-existing state
institutions rather than enhancing duplications, can the obstacles enforced by
confusion and chaos be overcome, and local potentials be empowered. Only when
these measures are implemented can the state’s sovereign will be restored.
6.2 Rethinking the refugee: rethinking sovereignty
Syrians refugees are more than the burden state officials wish them to be.
They are a chance to rethink relations within the state, and amongst Lebanese citizens.
I highly agree with Soguk who sees responses to refugee problems as measures that
continuously “shape and reshape” institutions and relations (2005, p.233). Ongoing
debates on the future role and empowerment of municipalities cannot be more
revealing. Going back to Kristeva’s account cited in the very beginning of my work,
the Syrian refugee is indeed a “symptom” helping us to identify ourselves as a
problem, in other words, a medicine to our illness. If Iraqi or Palestinian refugees
16 This topic also deserves further research.
43
were not enough of a lesson, one could for the least hope that Syrians play the role of
awakening agents, forging “new possibilities for living in the routines of everyday
affairs” (Soguk, 2005, p.224). What Hanafi suggested in the Palestinian refugees’
context could be equally valid in today’s setting: “a more constructive approach to
governance and rights [for Syrians] – inside and outside [informal] camps – would
help to clarify Lebanese sovereignty and bolster security’ (in Picard and
Ramsbotham, 2012, p.69). The latest announcement by the MoSA of a pilot project to
create pre-fabricated and removable houses for refugees between the Syrian and
Lebanese checkpoints in the bordering village of Masnaa, and another in Al-
Abuddiyeh in Northern Lebanon raises many debates and security concerns (LBCI
live broadcast, 2014; Boulos, 2014). The proposal could however mean that the time
of silence and passivity is over.
Going beyond that, a more constructive approach would allow the Lebanese to
renegotiate their presence, through questioning exclusion. As Foucault (1988) reveals
through his work, exclusion does not necessarily operate on the ‘foreign-other’ divide,
which perfectly makes sense in Lebanon where a centralised welfare-system
providing services to citizens is nearly inexistent. From here, more similarities can be
drawn between host communities – being of the poorest in the country – and refugees,
than between these two and Syrian and Lebanese elite.
My conclusion is that Syrian refugees demonstrated the need to reify the
search for a sovereign ideal, one that is more inclusive and consistent. I consider this
work to be more than a step towards examining how statist images are reified in the
everyday life, and playfully exercised on the refugee. I believe it recommends a close
examination of the ways in which different entities exercise sovereignty and often
overlap each other’s power – be it the General Security, the army, municipalities,
44
political parties or Islamic organisations. Considering their activities as part of
practices of sovereignty is another way to conceive or de-centralise the concept. This
would hence allow us to understand rather than be enmeshed in the ambiguities of
conflicting sovereignties. If this is a challenge for research, this means these areas
deserve further research.
45
Bibliography
Abdel-Kader, N., 2012. The Taif agreement: new order, old framework. Accord 24 [pdf] In: Picard, E. and Ramsbotham, A., eds. 2012. Reconciliation, Reform and Resilience: Positive Peace for Lebanon. Accord 24, 78-80. Available at: < http://www.c-r.org/sites/default/files/lebanon_zahbiayousuf_mariejoellezahar201209.pdf> [Accessed 22 July 2014].
Abi Saad., J., 2013. Conflict assessment Report: Bourj Hammoud Lebanon. Lebanon. UNDP. AFP, 2012. EU urges Lebanon not to send back Syrian refugees. The Daily Star, [online] 4 August. Available at: <http://dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2012/Aug-04/183411-eu-urges-lebanon-not-to-send-back-syrian-refugees.ashx#ixzz2pdJJMCXz> [Accessed 4 August 2014].
Alsory, A., 2014. Hizb Al-Tachnaq al-aramani yuhajim al Kurd al-suriyyin fi mintaqat Burj Hammoud di Bayrut. [Video online] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bj0mj2Jv_xY> [Accessed 29 July 2014].
As-Safir, 2014. Berri: No debate on direct election draft before fall. Now, [online] 25 August. Available at: <https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/inthepress/561357-berri-no-debate-on-direct-election-draft-before-fall> [Accessed 28 August 2014].
Ayubi, N.M., 1995. Overstating the Arab state. London: I.B. Tauris.
Bahout, J., 2012. Armed groups and sovereignty. Accord 24 [pdf] In: Picard, E. and Ramsbotham, A., eds. 2012. Reconciliation, Reform and Resilience: Positive Peace for Lebanon. 57-59. Available at: < http://www.c-r.org/sites/default/files/lebanon_zahbiayousuf_mariejoellezahar201209.pdf> [Accessed 22 July 2014].
Boulos, K., 2014. Al-mukhayamat al-mouftarada li-suriyyin: al-‘ibra fi-tanfiz, [online] 13 September. Available at: <https://now.mmedia.me/lb/ar/nowspecialar/563515-االلسسوورريييينن-االلممففتتررضضةة-االلممخخييممااتت- .[Accessed 14 September, 2014] <االلتتننففييذذ-ففيي-االلععببررةة Boustani, M., 2014. Enhancing Municipal Capacities: From Emergency Response to Planning. Civil Society Knowledge Center, Lebanon Support, [Online] Available at: <http://cskc.daleel-madani.org/paper/enhancing-municipal-capacities-emergency-response-planning> [Accessed 26 July 2014]. Cammett, M., 2014. Compassionate communalism: Welfare and Sectarianism in Lebanon. New York: Cornell University Press.
46
Carpi, E., 2014. The Everyday Experience of Humanitarianism in Akkar Villages. Civil Society Knowledge Center, Lebanon Support, [Online]: <http://cskc.daleel-madani.org/paper/everyday-experience-humanitarianism-akkar-villages> [Accessed 30 July 2014].
Charara, W., 1996. Dawlat Hizballah. Lubnan: Mujtama’an Islamiyyan. Beirut: Dar al-Nahar.
Chit, B., Nayel M.A., 2014. Understanding racism against Syrian refugees in Lebanon. Civil Society Knowledge Center, Lebanon Support, [Online]: <http://cskc.daleel-madani.org/paper/understanding-racism-against-syrian-refugees-lebanon> [Accessed 27 July 2014].
CLDH, 2014. Sit-in of solidarity with the migrants, asylum seekers and refugees detained and tortured at the General Security detention center. [Press release]. 18 July 2014. Available at: <http://www.rightsobserver.org/news/press-release-sit-in-of-solidarity-with-the-migrants,-asylum-seekers-and-refugees-detained-and> [Accessed12 August 2014]
Constable, M., 1991. Foucault and Walzer: sovereignty, strategy and the state. Polity [Peer Reviewed Journal] 24 (2), 269- 293. Available through JSTOR Arts and Sciences VII: <http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.soas.ac.uk/stable/3235041> [Accessed 28 June 2014].
Christophersen, M., Thorleifsson C. M., and Tiltness, A. A., 2013. Ambivalent Hospitality: Coping Strategies and Local Responses to Syrian Refugees in Lebanon. FAFO Report 48. [pdf] FAFO. Available at: <http://www.fafo.no/pub/rapp/20338/20338.pdf> [Accessed 27 July 2014].
Eggli, Ann Vibeke. 2002. Mass refugee influx and the limits of public international law. The Hague, London: Nijhoff.
El Mufti, K., 2014. Official response to the Syrian refugee crisis in Lebanon, the disastrous policy of no-policy. Civil Society Knowledge Center, Lebanon Support, [Online]: <http://cskc.daleel-madani.org/paper/official-response-syrian-refugee-crisis-lebanon-disastrous-policy-no-policy [Accessed 26 July 2014]. Fassin, D., 2011. Policing Borders, Producing Boundaries. The Governmentality of Immigration in the Dark Time. Annual Review of Anthropology [e-journal] 40, 213-226. Available at: http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-anthro-081309-145847 [Accessed 21 June 2014]
47
Future TV News. Ihtiqan ma bayn al-akrad wa ahali burj Hammoud ‘ala khalfiyyat hadithat qarourat al-ghaz. [Video online] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNKOws-1N8k [Accessed 29 July 2014]. Gratton, P., 2006. A retro-version of power: Agamben via Foucault on sovereignty. Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy [Peer Reviwed Journal] 9 (3), 445-459. Available through: Taylor & Francis Social Science and Humanities Library < http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/.VBMizBbgVlI> [Accessed 28 June 2014]. Haddad, E., 2008. The Refugee in International Society: Between Sovereigns. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008. Hanafi, S., 2012. Palestinians in Lebanon: Status, governance and security. Accord 24 [pdf] In: Picard, E. and Ramsbotham, A., eds. 2012. Reconciliation, Reform and Resilience: Positive Peace for Lebanon. 67-69. Available at: < http://www.c-r.org/sites/default/files/lebanon_zahbiayousuf_mariejoellezahar201209.pdf> [Accessed 22 July 2014].
Hansen, T.B and Stepputat, F., 2005. Sovereign Bodies: Citizens, Migrants, and States in the Postcolonial World. Oxford: Princeton University Hoffman, S., 2011. Disciplining movement: state sovereignty in the context of Iraqi migration in Syria. Ph. D. School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London). Huysmans, Jef. 1995. “Migrants as Security Problem: Dangers of ‘Securitizating’ Societal Issues.” In Migration and European Integration: The Dynamics of Inclusion and Exclusion, edited by Robert Miles and Dietrich Thranhart. Madison, N.J.: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. Jacobsen, K., 1996. Factors Influencing the Policy Responses of Host Governments to Mass Refugee Influxes, International Migration Review, [e-journal] 30 (3). 655-678. Available through: JSTOR < http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.soas.ac.uk/stable/2547631> [Accessed 28 March 2014]. Jdeideh-Bouchrieh-Sed Municipality, 2014. [Online]. Available at: <http://www.jdeideh-bouchrieh-sed.com/english.php> (English version) <http://www.jdeideh-bouchrieh-sed.com/arabic/index.php> (Arabic version). Karam, K., 2012. The Taif agreement: new order, old framework. Accord 24 [pdf] In: Picard, E. and Ramsbotham, A., eds. 2012. Reconciliation, Reform and Resilience: Positive Peace for Lebanon. 36-39. Available at: < http://www.c-r.org/sites/default/files/lebanon_zahbiayousuf_mariejoellezahar201209.pdf> [Accessed 22 July 2014].
Kaufman, A.S., 2014. Contested frontiers in the Syria-Lebanon-Israel region: cartography, sovereignty, and conflict. Washington, D.C: Woodrow Wilson Center
48
Press; Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. Krasner, D., 1999. Sovereignty: organized hypocrisy. Chichester: Princeton University Press. Kristeva, J., 1991. Strangers to ourselves. New York: Columbia University Press. LBCI News, 2014. [Live Broadcast] LBCI, 11 September 2014, 20:00. LBCI News. 2014. Baladiyat burj hammoud tuqarrir man’ tajawul al-suriyyin. [video online] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiYTxsqIis8> [Accessed July 29, 2014]. LBCI News, 2014. Arsal events coverage. [online]. Available at: < http://www.lbcgroup.tv/Search/ععررسساالل> [Accessed 14 September 2014]. Lebanon 24, 2014. Khatar Ersal yatamaddad w-al qora al-masihiyya tastanjid bi-Hezbollah”. [online] 31 August. Available at: <http://www.lebanon24.com/featured/details/872359?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=August2014 [Accessed 31 August 2014]. Makdissi, U., 2000. The culture of sectarianism: community, history and violence in 19th century Lebanon. University of California Press. Martin, G., Gutman, H. and Hutton, P. eds., 1988. Technologies of the Self: a seminar with Michel Foucault. London: Tavistock. Mikdachi, M., 2014a. Moral panics, sex panics and the reproduction of the Lebanese nation, Jadaliyya, [online] 22 February. Available at: <http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/16570/moral-panics-sex-panics-and-the-production-of-a-le> [Accessed 5 March 2014]. Mikdachi, M., 2014b. Quick thoughts: Maya Mikdashi on the Current Situation in Lebanon. Jadaliyya, [online] 24 June. Available at: <http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/18272/quick-thoughts_maya-mikdashi-on-the-current-situat> [Accessed 26 June 2014]. Mikati, N., 2014. Help! An urgent plea for Syrian Refugee Children in Lebanon. The Huffington Post, [blog] (Last updated at 5:59 am on August 4th). Available at: <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gordon-brown/syria-refugee-children-lebanon_b_4739529.html>[Accessed 20 April 2014]. Ministry of Interior and Municipalities, 2014. Ta’mim raqm 376 ilal-muhafizin wal- qaemaqamiyin bi cha2n ijra2 al mas7 al-chamel lil-nazihin al-suriyin [online] Ministerial decree, 23 May 2014. Available at: < http://www.moim.gov.lb/AdsDetails.aspx?ida=61> [Accessed 18 July 2014]. Ministry of Interior and Municipalities, 2014. Bayan min al-maktab al i’lami li wazir al-dakhiliyya wal baladiyyat yatloub ila jami’ al-nazihin al-suriyin wal-musajjalin lada moufawadiyyat al umam al-muttahida al-imtina’ ‘inda doukoul Suriya [online]
49
Ministerial decree, 31 May 31 2014. Available at: <http://www.moim.gov.lb/AdsDetails.aspx?ida=111> [Accessed 18 July 2014]. Mitchell, T., 1991. The limits of the state: beyond statist approaches and their critics. The American Political Science Review [e-journal] 85, 77-96. Available through: JSTOR <http://www.jstor.org/stable/1962879> [Accessed 20 October 2013]. Mitri, D., 2014. Challenges of aid coordination in a complex crisis: An overview of funding policies and conditions regarding aid provision to Syrian refugees in Lebanon. Civil Society Knowledge Center, Lebanon Support, [Online] Available at: <http://cskc.daleel-madani.org/paper/challenges-aid-coordination-complex-crisis> [Accessed 26 July 2014].
Mohsen, A., 2014. Burj Hammoud wal ajanib: nufur yulamis al-‘unsuriyya. Al-Akhbar, [online] 28 July. Available at: <http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/24947> [Accessed 27 July 2014]. Naharnet, 2013. Suleiman yakshifou ‘an tashkil “lajna li ‘awdat al-nazihin ila Suriya” wa ziyara mourtaqaba ila al-imarat al ‘arbiaa’. [Online] 30 September. Available at: <http://www.naharnet.com/stories/ar/100205-للععووددةة-للججننةة-تتششككييلل-ععنن-ييككششفف-سسللييمماانن- Accessed 5 August] <االلااررببععااء-االلااممااررااتت-االلىى-ممررتتققببةة-ووززييااررةة-سسوورريياا-االلىى-االلننااززححيينن2014].
Najem, T., 2012. Contemporary ME: Lebanon: the politics of a penetrated society. London and New York: Routledge. Nathwani, Niraj. 2003. Rethinking refugee law. The Hague, London: Martinus Nijhoff
Publishers.
Naufal, H., 2012. Syrian Refugees in Lebanon: The Humanitarian Approach under Political Divisions. [pdf] Migration Policy Center, Research Report 2012/13. Available at: <http://www.migrationpolicycentre.eu/docs/MPC%202012%2013.pdf> [Accessed 26 July 2014].
Owen, R. 2004. State, Power and politics in the making of the Middle East. 2nd ed. London, New York: Routledge.
Palmer, Harik, J., 2004. Hezbollah: the changing face of terrorism. London: I.B. Tauris. Peteet, J. M., 1995. Transforming Trust: Dispossession and Empowerment among Palestinian Refugees. In: Daniel, E.V and Knudsen, J.C., eds. 1995. Mistrusting refugees. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University California Press. Pp. 168-185. Picard, E., 1996. Lebanon: A Shattered Country. Myths and Realities of the War in Lebanon. New York: Holmes and Meier Publishers.
50
Picard, E., 2000. The Political Economy of Civil War in Lebanon. In Steven Heydemann, ed. 2000. War, Institutions and Social Change in the Middle East, University of California Press. Pp. 292-319. Press TV, 2014. Lebanon concerned over inflow of Syria refugees, [online] 16 April 2014. Available at: <http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/04/16/358771/syria-refugee-inflow-concerns-lebanon/> [Accessed 20 April 2014]. Roy, O., 1994. Patronage and solidarity groups: survival or reformation. In: Salame, G., ed. 1994. Democracy without democrats? The renewal of politics in the Muslim world. London: I.B. Tauris. pp.270-281. Salame, G., ed., 1994. Democracy without democrats? The renewal of politics in the Muslim world. London: I.B. Tauris. Samaan, J.L., 2007. Les métamorphoses du Hezbollah. Paris: Karthala. Soguk, N., 1999. States and Strangers. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. Tohme, N., 2014. Baladiyyat Burj Hammoud tata’amal ma’a al-laji’in bi ‘unsuriyya? Annahar, [online] 29 May. Available at: <http://www.annahar.com/article/137336- [Accessed 29 July 2014] <ببععننصصررييةة-للااججئئيينناالل-ممعع-تتتتععاامملل-ححمموودد-ببررجج-ببللددييةة UNHCR, 2014. Syria Regional Refugee Response, [online] (Last updated 11 September 2014). Available at: <http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/country.php?id=122> [Accessed September 4, 2014]. Van Vilet, S. and Hourani, G., 2014. Regional differences in the conditions of Syrian refugees in Lebanon. Civil Society Knowledge Center, Lebanon Support [Online]: <http://cskc.daleel-madani.org/paper/regional-differences-conditions-syrian-refugees-lebanon> [Accessed 26 July 2014]. Weber, C., and Bierstecker, T. J. eds., 1996. State sovereignty as a social construct. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Whitson, S.L., 2012. Letter to Lebanese Officials Regarding Deportation of Syrians, Human Rights Watch. [online] Lebanon. Human Rights Watch. Available at: <http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/08/04/letter-lebanese-officials-regarding-deportation-syrians> [Accessed 4 August 2014]. Yousuf, Z. and Zahar, M.J. 2012. Lebanon: a fate beyond its control? [pdf] Conciliation Resources. Available at: < http://www.c-r.org/sites/default/files/lebanon_zahbiayousuf_mariejoellezahar201209.pdf> [Accessed 22 July 2014]. Ziadeh, H., 2006. Sectarianism and inter-communal nation-building in Lebanon. London: Hurst & Co.
51
Appendix 1: Table of interviews conducted
Interviewee Institution/
Organisation Position Place and Date of
Interview Khalil Gebara Ministry of Interior and
Municipalities (MoIM) Advisor of the Minister
MoIM 18/07/2014
Makram Malaeb
Ministry of Social Affairs (MoSA)/UNHCR
Program Manager MoSA 21/07/2014
Wadih Asmar CLDH (LCHR- Lebanese Center for Human Rights)
Secretary General Urbanista 23/07/2014
Lama Maita Danish Refugee Council (DRC) / Bar Elias Municipality
Municipal Support Assistant at Bar Elias Municipality
Bar Elias Municipality 31/07/2014
Bassima Al-Arab
Bar Elias Municipality Mayor Secretary Bar Elias Municipality 31/07/2014
Jean Bakhos Jdeideh- Sad Municipality (serving Zaatriye and Roueisat)
Municipality Council member
Jdeideh Municipality 1/08/2014
Anonymous Anonymous Anonymous 4/08/2014 Chahid Assaf Hemlaya Municipality Mayor of Hemlaya Metn
Qaemaqamiya 4/08/2014
George Krikorian
Burj Hammoud Municipality
Vice President of Burj Hammoud Municipality
Burj Hammoud Municipality 6/08/2014
Nadim Houri MENA, at Human Rights Watch
Deputy Director HRW 13/08/2014
Adib Neimeh ESCWA, MoSA ESCWA, MoSA consultant, and writer
Café Place de l’etoile 21/07/2014
Hayat Fakhreddine
-- CSO activist and focal point informant
Nabaa neighborhood- 1/08/2014
Ana Pollard UNHCR Associate Statelessness Officer
UNHCR 4/08/2014
The interviewees highlighted in bold are used in the text. The rest of the interviewees are not cited.
Top Related