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Title | Author(s) | Publishing Date | Keywords | |
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Aging in Times of Crisis: Old Age Private Sector Workers Facing Growing Social Insecurity in Lebanon | Luna Dayekh | August, 2022 |
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. |
Lebanon, Social Protection, Poverty, Elderly, Pension, Retirement, Informal Sector, Self-Employment |
Extended Arenas of “Hirak”: Anti-Sectarian Electoral Contestation in Students and Syndicates’ Elections | Stephanie Daher | June, 2022 |
This article underlines how and in what ways anti-sectarian independent groups competing in (university) students and syndicates elections against the traditional political parties set a precedent through their electoral contestations and mobilisations. This article demonstrates that these elections contributed to the creation of collective consciousness reflected by a generation of activists advocating for anti-sectarianism and demanding change of the system. The paper exhibits how student councils and syndicates acted as extended arenas of “Hirak” (in Arabic “movement”), protracting traditional street mobilisation, in their fundamental role in contesting the existing political system. It explains the articulation of the university students’ and syndicates’ movement and the October 2019 thawra. |
Lebanon, Activism, Emerging Political Actors, Students, Syndicates, Lebanese Sectarian System, Social movement |
The Ration Card: A Response to the Economic Crisis in Lebanon. To what extent are cash transfer programs effective? | Luna Dayekh | May, 2022 |
The brief examines the Ration Card Program (RCP), an emergency cash transfer program that was issued by the Lebanese government to assist the poor and vulnerable Lebanese population affected by the ongoing economic crisis. The brief first introduces the RCP and its beneficiaries, and shows the shortcomings of the RCP that provides little support to beneficiaries, excludes a large section of the population, and is not sustainable. The brief then suggests alternative approaches and recommendations to shift toward a sustainable social security protection framework that supports the population as a whole. |
Lebanon, socio-economic demands, Policy Intervention, cash transfers, ration card, Inclusive Social Security, Emergency Response |
A Historical Mapping of Lebanese Organized Labor: Tracing trends, actors, and dynamics | Rossana Tufaro | November, 2021 |
The paper provides a contextualized and easily accessible history of Lebanese organized labor from the mandate period up to this day. The paper is divided into six main sections, each corresponding to a distinct phase of the historical development of Lebanese organized labor. In each section, the paper identifies the main actors, demands, events, urgencies and constraints shaping the articulation and the trajectories of (de/) mobilization of workers’ collective agency and organization, so as to provide a cumulative and genealogical overview of the changes, continuities and peculiarities characterizing each phase. The paper builds for the most part on the piecemeal and dis-organic body of scholarship currently constituting the bulk of scholarly knowledge on Lebanese labor, in an attempt to provide a synthesis and an index thereof. In so doing, the paper aims at offering a directory and a ready-to-hand compendium for researchers, analyst and practitioners interested in Lebanese labor, and possibly contribute to (re)ignite interest in this still widely under-researched topic. |
Lebanon, Labor Rights & Livelihoods, labour movement, socio-economic demands, Policy Intervention, Activism |
Possibilities and Challenges: Social Protection and COVID-19 Crisis in Jordan | Abdalhadi Alijla | November, 2021 |
This report describes the different programmes and the mechanisms used to reach the country’s most vulnerable groups. It focuses specifically on informal workers, women, and the youth. The report also shows that Jordan has used its existing social protection systems to reach vulnerable people through emergency cash transfer programmes, either by expanding the already existing programme (Takaful) or creating new ones (Tamkin Iqtisadi, Himaya, Musanid). The Jordanian government’s responsiveness and effectiveness were conditioned and restrictive towards women, informal workers, and refugees. This report analyses the government's response in an attempt to identify gaps in the Jordanian social protection system and how it can be further developed |
Jordan, Social Protection System, Covid-19 in Jordan, Informal Economy in Jordan |
COVID-19 Vaccines: Is equity between North and South still possible? | Heba Wanis | October, 2021 |
This article explores global vaccination inequity and wether equity in this regard is achievable between North and South. It covers the challenges faced by health systems in the region during the pandemic, issues of equity in access to the vaccine, and the developments and barriers relevant to vaccine production in the South. |
MENA Region, Right To Health, Vaccination Inequity, Social Justice, Crisis Prevention & Recovery |
Collective Actions Digest Jordan – September 1, 2018 - August 31, 2021 | Rossana Tufaro | October, 2021 |
Despite the lack of media coverage, Jordanian society is currently witnessing a multitude of pervasive and increasing tensions nested in the shadow of the country’s economic downturn and the austerity policies adopted by the state. This digest provides an overview of the collective actions mapped in Jordan between September 1 2018 and August 31 2021, including general trends, demands, mode of action. |
Press Freedom, Repression, Jordan, Collective Action, Socio-Economic |
Tunisia’s “Al-Ahyaa Al-Sha’Biya”: Socioeconomic Grievances, Mobilisation, and Repression | Stephanie Daher | October, 2021 |
This paper will look into the dynamics of police repression and violence against contentious actors during the latest wave of protests in Tunisia. It will argue that there is a continuity between the grievances of the recent protests and those expressed during the 2011 revolution, including corruption, access to socio-economic rights and individual and collective freedoms. The paper will also highlight the role of the youth, particularly those from marginalised neighbourhoods, in leading the protests, positioning them as the main targets of police violence and arbitrary arrests. Finally, it will shed light on the recent police repression and violation of individual freedoms, showing that despite being considered as one of the main achievements of the Tunisian’s revolution, civil liberties remain under threat. |
Repression, Police Brutality, collective actions, Social Justice, Socio-Economic, socio-economic demands, Tunisia, Economic & Social Rights |
موجز: الإقتصاد السياسي لإدارة أزمة جائحة كوفيد-١٩ في تونس: هل هي أزمة حُكم أم فشلٌ على مستوى المنظومة الصحّية؟ | Dr. Belgacem Sabri | September, 2021 |
يلخّص هذا الموجز إدراة جائحة كوفيد-١٩ في تونس على الصعيدين السياسي والإقتصادي، طارحًا إشكالية ما إذا كانت هذه الأزمة الصحية ناتجة عن أزمة حكم أو فشل على مستوى المنظومة الصحية. وتعمَّق الموجز أيضًا في دور المجتمع المدني التونسي في الدفاع عن الحقّ في الصحّة وعن مكتسبات النظام الصحّي. هذا الموجز كُتب بناءً على مداخلة د. بلقاسم صابري خلال الندوة الإفتراضية "توفير الحقّ في الصحّة للجميع، وتحقيق المساواة في الحصول على اللقاح في الشرق الأوسط وشمال أفريقيا. مقاربة ما بعد الاستعمارية" التي نظمها مركز دعم لبنان في ٢ أيلول/ سبتمبر ٢٠٢١ |
Tunisia, Political Economy, Health, Covid19, Right To Health |
Unpacking the Dynamics of Contentious Mobilisations in Lebanon: Between Continuity and Evolution | Stephanie Daher | August, 2021 |
This paper will first explore the witnessed recurrent mobilisation cycles since 2019 through the lens of accumulated emerging movements over the last decade. Then, it will highlight the dynamics of collective mobilisations from October 2019 onwards based on the data mappings of collective actions produced by Lebanon Support (Lebanon Support, Mapping of Collective Actions in Lebanon), tracing its own evolution since its start up until today: Are the modes of action adopted by protestors the same since October 17, 2019? Have the advanced causes and grievances evolved? Do we observe any continuity in its decentralised spread and non-sectarian character? The paper will explore the dynamics and characteristics of this social movement such as the main mobilising actors, the modes of action, and the causes and grievances of mobilisations and their evolution across three time-periods from October 2019 until May 2021. The first time-period extends from October 2019 to February 2020, the second starts from the imposed-lockdown measures in March 2020 to October 2020 marking the first-year anniversary of the Uprising, and the third from November 2020 up until May 2021. |
Social Movements, Civil Society, October Protests, Civic Space, Lebanon |