Book review: the second Arab awakening and the battle for pluralism by Marwan Muasher

In this book Marwan Muasher proposes a broad analysis and assessment of the Arab Spring, calling on the West to rethink political Islam and the Arab-Israeli conflict. He also discusses steps all parties can take to encourage positive state-building in a freshly unsettled Arab world. Filippo Dionigi finds that some of the author’s arguments constitute wishful thinking, but overall his optimism may inspire successful reconciliation between parties in the future

Lebanon: new president, old politics

Filippo Dionigi argues that despite the recent presidential election nothing much has changed in Lebanon's domestic politics or its international rediolation

Dag Hammarskjöld's religiosity and norms entrepreneurship: a postsecular perspective

In 1953, the UN General Assembly elected a low-key and relatively unknown personality as the second Secretary General of the UN. Dag Hammarskjöld, nonetheless, turned out to be one of the most entrepreneurial and innovative SGs that the UN has ever had. He invented peacekeeping, radically reformed the administrative structure of the UN, and promoted a crucial multilateral diplomatic role for the UN Secretariat. Behind this innovative approach to the politics of the UN, there was a personality with a deep and complex religious discernment that emerged occasionally in public speeches, as well as in private writing. This paper interprets Hammarskjöld’s norms entrepreneurship through the lens of postsecular theory and the concept of Habermasian institutional translation. It shows how -in contrast with merely secularist assumptions - Hammarskjöld’s religiosity shaped and advanced international political processes consistently with the principles of the UN Charter

Dynamics between Hezbollah and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon

Although the main threat to Lebanese stability over the last months was the possibility of an Israeli attack, Lebanon is now dealing with internal tensions in connection to the indictment of Hezbollah members by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL).The tribunal, in charge of investigating the killing of Rafiq al-Hariri in 2005, initially focused on the involvement of the Syrian regime. Following the release of the initial suspects on the grounds of insufficient evidence, a stream of leaks indicated the possible indictment of members of Hezbollah

The Syrian refugee crisis in Lebanon: state fragility and social resilience

Owing to its geographic proximity, the overlap in language and historical relations with itsneighbour, Lebanon is one of the most obvious destinations for Syrians trying to escapethe civil war, and around 1.2 million have registered there with the UNHCR. This report provides an account of the situation in five sections. Firstly, it offers an account of the unfolding of the crisis from the perspective of Lebanese political institutions. Secondly, it maps political reactions to the crisis, focussing on the main actors involved. Thirdly, it analyses the status of Syrians displaced in Lebanon – displacement being one of the main sources of vulnerability. Fourthly, it highlights the role played by local administrations and international organisations in managing the crisis. And finally, it illustrates how Syrian-Lebanese migrations have a consolidated history based on mutual economic interests, and social and cultural ties. Based on these considerations, the report then proposes a set of possible courses of action to be undertaken by various stakeholders

Rethinking borders:The dynamics of syrian displacement to Lebanon

Borders and territoriality are key components of modern forms of statehood, yet their relevance appears to be challenged by interstate movements of peoples. This essay proposes a reconceptualization of borders as “thin borders” to develop an analytical framework of the Syrian refugee crisis in Lebanon going beyond a conventional understanding of Westphalian statehood. Looking at historical and contemporary events, the analysis highlights several transborder dynamics influencing the process of refugees’ displacement from Syria to Lebanon. It then illustrates the complex nature of borders as multilayered entities regulating the flow of people from Syria to Lebanon in a way that transcends the idea of national territoriality.</jats:p

Do we need a regional compact for refugee protection in the Middle East?

While diplomatic delegations in Vienna meet for the first time since almost two years to address the Syrian situation, we must not forget that the refugee crisis caused by this conflict represents one of the most urgent issues to be addressed, both regionally and globally, writes Filippo Dionigi

Statehood and refugees: patterns of integration and segregation of refugee populations in Lebanon from a comparative perspective

Scholarly debate has persuasively highlighted the inherent tension between refugees and the modern state. Yet, how do state-refugee relations unfold in practice when considering the historical and social specificity of a single state? Is there a heuristic value in going beyond the premises of a general state-refugee binary and adopt a state-specific approach? These questions are addressed through an analysis based on the modelling of statehood in Lebanon and comparing five cases of refugee-state relations in this country. This method allows explaining the variation in degrees of segregation or integration of refugees and shows that the mode of politicization of refugees is the key factor in understanding this variation. Not all refugees and not all states are the same; the variance of state-refugee relations is best explained from a perspective that considers the historically situated nature of statehood