“Finding” Sectarianism and Strife in Lebanon

Despite Lebanon’s relatively wide use as an example in studies of ethnic politics, clientelism, sectarianism, and—most recently—refugees, comparatively few articles in top political science journals are published about Lebanese politics or based on extended fieldwork in Lebanon.1 Yet, in political s...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PS, political science & politics political science & politics, 2019-07, Vol.52 (3), p.494-497
Main Authors: Ghosn, Faten, Parkinson, Sarah E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Case studies
Civil war
Clientelism
Community
Ethics
Ethnic conflict
Expectations
Fieldwork
Identification
Incentives
Language Skills
Minority & ethnic violence
Money
Patronage
Political parties
Political science
Qualitative Research
Refugees
Research Assistants
Research Design
Researchers
Scholars
Sectarianism
Symposium: Reflections on Scholarship and Fieldwork in the Middle East and North Africa
The Profession
Tourism
Validity
Voyeurism
War
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Summary:Despite Lebanon’s relatively wide use as an example in studies of ethnic politics, clientelism, sectarianism, and—most recently—refugees, comparatively few articles in top political science journals are published about Lebanese politics or based on extended fieldwork in Lebanon.1 Yet, in political science research, Lebanon is broadly represented as an area that consistently exhibits specific dynamics. Fieldbased scholarship on Lebanon often works to nuance this framing (see, e.g., Cammett 2014; Salloukh et al. 2015), but these works are few and far between. Lack of contextual knowledge among both qualitatively and quantitatively oriented scholars substantiates overused categories of analyses, undermines data validity, and inhibits ethical production of knowledge. This article addresses three distinct, interrelated predicaments in the Lebanese context: (1) a generally uncritical focus on sect/sectarianism as the primary explanatory factor in Levantine politics; (2) research tourism/voyeurism; and (3) effects of these two factors on the survey-firm industry in Lebanon.
ISSN:1049-0965
1537-5935
DOI:10.1017/S1049096519000143