Beyond ethnic entrenchment and amelioration: an analysis of non-sectarian social movements and Lebanon’s consociationalism

Nagle, John

doi:10.1080/01419870.2017.1287928

Cited by 41 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…On the other hand, religious group differences were observed in all but one of the twelve models. This is consistent with the argument that confessionalism leads Lebanese citizens to ignore their prudential interests in favor of religious group-based interests (Nagle 2017).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 77%

“…Political decisions and group gains and losses then become inextricably tied, which increases the degree to which religious identification is politically consequential ( (Blumer 1958;Bobo and Hutchings 1996;Brown 2010;Sidanius and Pratto 2001) in (Huddy 2013)). As group identities become intrinsic to political decision making, socioeconomic and other prudential interests are rivaled by group identity (Nagle 2017). The individual then makes political decisions with the power associated with group membership in mind, while class interests are made subservient to group membership.…”

Section: Criticisms Of Consociationalismmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Who Benefits from Consociationalism? Religious Disparities in Lebanon’s Political System

Vaughan

2018

Religions

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This study examines the extent to which confessional identities in Lebanon are responsible for shaping individual views toward their government. Specifically, I investigate disparities between religious groups in their perceptions of democracy and democratic principles as applied in Lebanon. Using nationally representative data from the Arab Barometer's survey of Lebanon, I find that when compared to Maronite Catholics, Druze, and Sunni Muslims, Shia Muslims consistently give higher evaluations of the democratic condition of Lebanon. When compared to members of other religious groups, Shia Muslims are also more trusting of government institutions and perceive Lebanon to be freer. I find little evidence that the application of consociational theory equally and proportionally represents the political needs of the religious groups intended to be served. Rather, my findings reveal religious disparities in evaluations of democracy and political institutions in Lebanon, supporting critics of consociationalism who argue that consociationalism essentializes group-identity to political disputes.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 77%

Section: Criticisms Of Consociationalismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Who Benefits from Consociationalism? Religious Disparities in Lebanon’s Political System

Vaughan

2018

Religions

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“…The principle of the allotment state ('muhassa al-dawla') means that the respective sectarian elitesoften former warlordsare granted control of major public offices, which they utilise as both instruments for personal enrichment and as a resource for clientelism within their own sectarian networks. 24 At the same time, endemic state weaknesses are deliberately maintained by sectarian elites so that goods and services are placed under their administrative networks. These social welfare servicesespecially healthcare and educationare used to ensure that much of the workingclass population are heavily reliant on the assistance provided by their communal leaders.…”

Section: Developing Lgbtqi Rights In Postwar Societiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Frictional encounters in postwar human rights: an analysis of LGBTQI movement activism in Lebanon

Nagle

2019

The International Journal of Human Rights

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The advancement of LGBTQI rights is now a significant component of many international aid programmes. The successful diffusion of LGBTQI rights is supposed to rest on a successful interaction between international agencies that foster global rights and social movement actors that embed these processes at the local level. Yet, these encounters between global human rights ideas and local practices may not always generate positive dynamics. Drawing on the concept of 'friction'the unstable qualities of interaction between global and local forcesthis paper explores the relationship between international actors promoting LGBTQI rights and local social movement activists in postconflict societies. I argue that the notion of global rights is particularly problematic in the context of post-conflict societies where rights are allocated on the basis of sectarian identity. To empirically illustrate these issues, I look at LGBTQI social movement activism in the divided society of Lebanon. In particular, I examine the emergence and development of Helem-the first recognised LGBTQI rights group in the Middle East and North Africawhich quickly became the poster child for international development and aid agencies in the Global North. the local scale 'vernacularise'-translate the 'transnational metacode of human rights to local situations'so as to achieve policy and attitudinal change. 5 Thus, for example, the repeal of Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Act has been identified as the outcome of the 'close working relationship between international actors and national civil society'. 6 Yet, these encounters between global and local actors, human rights ideas and practices may not always generate predetermined, predictable and positive dynamics. Scholars increasingly illuminate the uneven, unequal, unexpected and uncertain processes and outcomes that occur as a product of global and local interactions in human rights. These meetings and collisions 'can be both a site for empowerment and for domination' for local activists and populations. 7 A variety of conceptual frameworks are deployed to capture these complex forces. Merry notes that social movement activists may either 'replicate', 'hybridise' or 'subvert' global human rights norms. 8 Tsing, similarly, has coined the concept of 'friction': the 'awkward, unequal, unstable, and creative qualities' of global interaction'. 9 Applying friction to the consequences of international peacebuilding programmes, Björkdahl and Höglund note a range of responses by local actors 'which arise as a result of meetings between actors, ideas and practice in global-local relationships', and include 'compliance, adoption, adaptation, co-option, resistance and rejection'. 10 Research on frictionality tends to view such engagements as leading to a singular form of movement response. That is, local human rights movements may either decide on compliance, adoption, adaptation, co-option, resistance and rejection in relation to global rights. Yet, the full array of these strategic options may uneasily coincide wi...

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“…Examining non-sectarian movements in Lebanon, Nagle distinguishes between three available strategies: hegemonic compliance, whereby movements mirror the power-sharing logic within their own structures; constructive engagement, where they participate in order to push for power-sharing reforms; and active resistance, where they challenge the adverse consequences of power-sharing. 19 In most cases, those beyond the dominant groups still find ways to navigate the political terrain, advance their interests and shape the society in which they live.…”

Section: How Do Others Navigate the Eai Dilemma?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Others in Deeply Divided Societies: A Research Agenda

Agarin

McCulloch

Murtagh

2018

Nationalism and Ethnic Politics

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This article identifies a central problem in the theory and practice of democracy in divided societies: the systematic exclusion of Others. Defining the exclusion-amidinclusion (EAI) dilemma of consociational power-sharing, whereby in including the main groups to the conflict it works to exclude those beyond these groups, the article offers the first systematic conceptualization of this issue. The article outlines the type of individuals and groups affected by the EAI dilemma, the varying strategies they adopt to navigate power-sharing frameworks and the potential routes out of this normative and empirical puzzle. Finally, it lays out a challenge for scholars to build on this conceptualization and address the EAI dilemma in future research. In 2016, the European Court of Human Rights ruled for the third time against the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). At stake was whether BiH's constitutional framework-a particularly rigid and complicated form of corporate consociationalism-violated the rights of non-constituent peoples to free and democratic elections and to freedom from discrimination. The court took issue with the electoral rules for the state presidency and the House of Peoples, both of which restrict access to BiH's constituent peoples-Bosniaks, Bosnian Serbs, and Bosnian Croats. The court sided with Ilijaz Pilav, a Bosniak living in the Republika Srpska, who could not contest the presidential elections on the basis of his residence, as the current rules restrict candidacy to Bosniaks and Bosnian Croats who live in the Federation of Bosnia of Herzegovina and to Bosnian Serbs who live in the Republika Srpska. This decision reinforced two earlier rulings. In Finci and Sejdić vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina (2009), the court determined that the electoral rules discriminated against members of the Jewish and Roma populations, who, as non-constituent peoples, were prohibited from reaching these offices. In Zornić vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina (2014), the court sided with Azra Zornić, who, because she was unwilling to declare an ethnic affiliation, was prohibited from contesting the election. Despite these rulings, the electoral rules remain in place and politicians remain deadlocked on how to revise them. In addition to their legal ramifications, the ECHR rulings expose an acute problem that emerges in consociational settings, which we refer to as the exclusion-amid-inclusion (EAI) dilemma. That is, the institutional inclusion of some groups necessarily results in the exclusion of others. As Jakob Finci noted in response to the 2009 ECHR ruling, the

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Beyond ethnic entrenchment and amelioration: an analysis of non-sectarian social movements and Lebanon’s consociationalism

Cited by 41 publications

References 24 publications

Who Benefits from Consociationalism? Religious Disparities in Lebanon’s Political System

Who Benefits from Consociationalism? Religious Disparities in Lebanon’s Political System

Frictional encounters in postwar human rights: an analysis of LGBTQI movement activism in Lebanon

Others in Deeply Divided Societies: A Research Agenda

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