The humanitarian engagement of Gulf States has globally increased over the last two decades. This trend also manifests itself in Lebanon, where the displacement from Syria has lead to an unprecedented growth of Lebanon’s diverse humanitarian sector. Due to the weakness of state institutions and the absence of a concerted government strategy, UN-institutions took a leading role in the coordination of international and local NGOs. However, numerous Gulf-funded organisations function largely outside the UN-coordinated response and rely on their own coordination structures. This paper explores these structures and characteristics of humanitarian assistance for Syrians displaced in Lebanon running primarily on Gulf funding. Thereby it focuses particularly on two umbrella organisations, URDA and I’tilaf, that are largely Gulf-funded and coordinate the work of numerous faith-based humanitarian organisations. Based on ethnographic field research – which was mainly conducted in 2014 and 2016 – the paper examines positions and negotiations within these humanitarian structures. These ethnographic insights are completed by an analysis of the available data and literature on Islamic charitable giving and funding trends in Lebanon. Coordination among the different humanitarian actors has repeatedly been a matter of complaint and discussion in both interviews and international reports: The lack of comprehensive coordination structures, the subsequent inefficiency in the use of funds, and the unsatisfying inclusion of local stakeholders are among the main points of critique. Here, Gulf-funded humanitarian assistance for Syrian refugees in Lebanon shows alternative models and approaches in regard to operating standards, administrative procedures, planning, reporting, and contact to the local population. Yet, ad hoc deliveries with few administrative procedures and a lack of transparency simultaneously expose the Gulf donors also to accusations of the misuse of funds and diminish accountability towards donors, beneficiaries and possible cooperation partners. This, finally, raises questions regarding the possibilities of the multilateral system to provide forums for exchange, efficient coordination, and mediation between conflicting positions.

This paper analyses the part played by the organised workers’ movement in the political and economic struggle for change in Lebanon during the first decade of the post-civil war period. It seeks to explain the trajectory of the workers’ movement, represented by the General Confederation of Workers in Lebanon (GCWL), and their successes and failures during the period in question. It investigates the structure and legal framework within which  trade unions and leagues were created, as well as their past political affiliations or alliances. In doing so, the research examined labour provisions, the structural framework of the organised workers’ movement, GCWL documents as well as newspaper archives, which reveal different facets of state-labour relations in Lebanon. As such, the paper begins by briefly charting the main issues affecting state-labour relations, then goes on to advance that the workers’ movement was significantly weakened by state and the ruling elite  intervention, repression, and eventually, state incorporation. 

Au lendemain de la création de l’Autorité palestinienne en 1994, une multitude d’acteurs se met à réaliser des projets collectifs de coopération au développement sous l’égide des bailleurs de fonds internationaux . L’analyse d’un projet financé par la Banque mondiale illustre la façon dont le projet devient un réseau de pouvoir, qui produit aussi bien les normes gestionnaires que les mécanismes nécessaires à leur application auprès des bénéficiaires de l’aide . Cela contribue à transfigurer le développement en une croyance dominante, fondée sur une lecture néolibérale et post-conflit de la société palestinienne . Au nom de la coordination pour la « bonne gouvernance,» cette mise en réseau structure le cadre de l’interaction des bénéficiaires de l’aide, tout en construisant un nouvel espace social : le « monde du développement.» Si l’adhésion des acteurs locaux à cette croyance se traduit par leur intériorisation des normes rationnelles, elle entraîne une nouvelle manière de percevoir la réalité sociale . De ce fait, un nouveau système de valeurs s’établit . Une nouvelle hiérarchie sociale s’instaure dans la « Palestine des bailleurs de fonds,» au sommet de laquelle se trouvent les bailleurs internationaux . Si l’article se fonde sur le cas palestinien, il aborde une thématique globale, celle de l’instrumentalisation de la « société civile » par les organisations internationales afin d’instaurer l’économie de marché dans les pays dépendants de l’aide dédiée au développement.

This study describes the process and dynamics of aid during the Nahr al-Bared crisis in 2007. It seeks to explore how previous experiences of relief were capitalized on and used as part of routinized relief procedure in 2007. Based on several interviews conducted, the study provides a general description of the crisis, the problems and challenges faced and the local expertise and skills used during the crisis. The second section focuses specifically on the issue of needs assessment and information consolidation with the action of sharing playing a vital role in aid.