REFUGEES AND POLITICAL STABILITY IN LEBANON

Year 2014, Volume: 6 Issue: 1, 50 - 69, 01.07.2014

Benjamin Macqueen Kylie Baxter

Abstract

This article compares the Palestinian and Syrian refugee crises on political stability in Lebanon. Debates over the “implantation” tawteen of the Palestinian refugee community, alongside the increasing militarization of the community after 1970 were key factors in the outbreak of civil war in Lebanon in 1975. The arrival of over 1 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon since 2011 has raised similar concerns of whether Lebanon will again witness political collapse and civil conflict. However, it is argued that whilst the current refugee crisis in Lebanon is broadly comparative to the events of the early 1970s, the scale of the current refugee crisis alongside the different profile of the refugee community has created different dynamics. Specifically, the blurring of lines between the host community and the refugee community through familial, personal, and other links makes the dynamics of refugee politics in Lebanon today markedly different from that of the early 1970s. In addition, where Lebanese political actors had initially sought to politicize the refugee issue, the scale of the crisis has made this a national, not political issue, serving to reduce the distance between political opponents in the country. This is not to argue that the current crisis does not pose potentially existential challenges to the Lebanese state. Instead, the nature of the crisis is such that efforts at isolating the refugee “problem”, as took place before and after the Lebanese civil war, are not possible today

Keywords

Lebanon, Syria, Confessionalism, Refugees, Civil Conflict

LÜBNAN’DA SİYASİ İSTİKRAR VE MÜLTECİLER

Abstract

Bu makale, Filistin ve Suriyeli mülteci krizinin Lübnan’daki siyasi istikrara etkisini karşılaştırmaktadır. Filistin mülteci topluluğunun 1970 sonrasında militarize olmasının yanı sıra bu topluluğun Lübnan toplumuna eklemlenmesi tawteen üzerindeki tartışmalar, 1975 yılında Lübnan’da iç savaşın patlak vermesinin temel etkenleriydi. 2011 yılından beri Lübnan’a göç eden Suriyeli mültecilerin sayısının 1 milyonu geçmesi, Lübnan’ın yine siyasi bir çöküş ve sivil çatışmaya tanıklık yapıp yapmayacağı konusundaki benzer endişeleri arttırmaya başlamıştır. Lübnan’daki mevcut mülteci krizi genel olarak 1970’lerdeki ile karşılaştırılabilecek nitelikte olsa da, mevcut mülteci krizinde mülteci topluluğunun profilinin değişiklik arz etmesinin, bunun yanı sıra krizin çok daha geniş bir ölçeğe sahip olmasının farklı dinamikleri ortaya çıkardığı iddia edilmektedir. Özellikle ev sahibi toplumun ve mülteci topluluğunun arasındaki çizgilerin ailesel, kişisel veya diğer bağlantılar yoluyla birbirine girmesi, Lübnan’da bugünkü mülteci siyasetinin dinamiklerini 1970’lerin başındakinden belirgin bir şekilde farklı kılmaktadır. Buna ek olarak, her ne kadar Lübnanlı siyasi aktörler başlangıçta mülteci sorununu siyasallaştırmaya çalışmışlarsa da, krizin ölçeği bunu siyasal değil, ülkedeki siyasi muhalifler arasındaki mesafeyi azaltmaya hizmet eden ulusal bir mesele haline getirmiştir. Bu durum mevcut krizin Lübnan devletine varoluşsal bir tehdit oluşturma ihtimali olmadığı anlamına gelmemektedir. Daha ziyade, bu krizin doğası öyle bir hal almıştır ki, Lübnan iç savaşının öncesinde ve sonrasında olduğu gibi mülteci sorununu tecrit etme çabaları, artık çok mümkün gözükmemektedir

Keywords

Arap Baharı, Rusya, Suriye

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