يشيد مركز العلوم الاجتماعية للأبحاث التطبيقيّة (CeSSRA) باعتماد لبنان للاستراتيجية الوطنيّة الأولى للحماية الاجتماعيّة التي تشكّل نقطة محورية نحو العدالة الاجتماعية في البلد. وتمثّل هذه الاستراتيجية خطوةً حاسمةً لإرساء عقدٍ اجتماعيٍّ جديدٍ بين الدولة ومواطنيها، تكون الحقوق الاجتماعيّة إحدى ركائزه الأساسيّة.

This paper examines the repercussions of Syria's prolonged economic crisis, primarily in Damascus, Hasaka, and Idleb, initiated by the conflict's onset in 2011. The nation has witnessed a severe economic decline with a staggering 300 percent inflation rate, leading to uncontrollable price spikes for essential commodities, rendering them financially inaccessible to most Syrians. Over 90 percent of the population now resides below the poverty line, grappling with poverty, job insecurity, and precarious living conditions. This study focuses on the contemporary status, challenges, and self-perceptions of individuals who identify as "middle class" in Syria. The research is based on comprehensive, semi-structured, and longitudinal telephone interviews with eight Syrian residents between October 2022 and January 2023. The paper underscores the difficulties in maintaining a reasonable standard of living, the scarcity of essential goods and services, and the lack of basic infrastructure in urban areas. Many participants employ individual strategies, including receiving remittances or leveraging personal connections to access necessities. Furthermore, participants express disillusionment with prospects for transformative change, a sense of resignation, and the need to endure day-to-day. They face limitations in expressing grievances, providing mutual support, uniting against challenges, or engaging in acts of protest against prevailing conditions.

Position paper by the CeSSRA's International Financial Institutions Monitor on the Lebanon report published by the fund under article IV on 29 June 2023.

The article sheds light on the gaps and weaknesses of Lebanon’s social protection system and demands adequate support for all citizens, particularly for older people. It shows that elderly, who make up more than 11 percent of the population in Lebanon, have been paying the price of a weak social protection system that suffers from gaps in legal and effective coverage and lacks sustainable funding. The article highlights that persons who have worked informally or in self-employment occupations all their life are not eligible for social protection and entitlements, and are therefore dependent on alternative forms of support, or need to continue working after the age of retirement. The article calls for a rights-based lifecycle social protection system in Lebanon that would include, among others, old-age pensions.