“Finding” Sectarianism and Strife in Lebanon

• 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
• ISSN: 1049-0965; 1537-5935
• DOI: 10.1017/S1049096519000143

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.