Articles
Title Author(s) Publishing Date Summary Keywords Dossier
بيان حول اعتماد الاستراتيجية الوطنيّة للحماية الاجتماعيّة الأولى من نوعها في لبنان The Centre for Social Sciences Research and Action February, 2024

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.

Social Security, Inclusive Social Security, Social Protection, Universal Social Protection, Social Policy, Lebanon Socio-Economic Rights Base, Conflict Analysis Project
Statement on Lebanon's adoption of its long-awaited National Social Protection Strategy The Centre for Social Sciences Research and Action February, 2024

The Centre for Social Sciences Research and Action (CeSSRA) applauds Lebanon’s adoption of its first-ever National Social Protection Strategy which constitutes an important milestone towards social justice in the country. This strategy represents a crucial step in establishing a new social contract between the state and its citizens, with social rights as one of its main pillars.

Social Security, Inclusive Social Security, Social Protection, Universal Social Protection, Social Policy, Lebanon Socio-Economic Rights Base, Conflict Analysis Project
Poverty, Precarity, and Isolation: The Economic Situation of Syria’s “Middle Class” Mohamad Blakah , Miriam Younes October, 2023

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.

Syria, Social Justice, Poverty, Socio-economic Rights Socio-Economic Rights Base, Conflict Analysis Project
ورقة موقف: الديمقراطية شرطٌ أساسيّ في الطريق نحو إصلاح الدولة والنظام في لبنان The Centre for Social Sciences Research and Action July, 2023

ورقة موقف لمركز العلوم الاجتماعية للأبحاث التطبيقية (CeSSRA) حول تقرير نشره صندوق النقد الدولي عن لبنان ضمن المادّة الرابعة في ٢٩ حزيران/يونيو ٢٠٢٣

Lebanon, International Monetary Fund, International Financial Institutions, Social Protection System, Socio-economic reforms Socio-Economic Rights Base, Conflict Analysis Project
Position paper: The road to reforming the state and the system in Lebanon must be democratically led The Centre for Social Sciences Research and Action July, 2023

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.

Lebanon, International Monetary Fund, International Financial Institutions, Social Protection System, Socio-economic reforms Socio-Economic Rights Base, Conflict Analysis Project
Crisis and Retirement: Elderly in the Public Sector are struggling to secure their needs Luna Dayekh September, 2022

Building on the stories and experiences of four retired individuals in the military forces and public sector, this paper explores the limitations of the existing social insurance and pension schemes and questions their realities in light of the multiple and overlapping crises Lebanon is currently facing. The article highlights how the current crisis has brought considerable social and economic downgrading to public and military personnel, as the provided healthcare services and pension schemes are no longer adequate or a source of safety in their old age. The article concludes that the pension schemes are insufficient to ensure a dignified life for these individuals and their families.

Lebanon, Social Protection, Poverty, Elderly, Pension, Retirement, Military Forces, Public Sector Socio-Economic Rights Base, Conflict Analysis Project
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 Socio-Economic Rights Base, Conflict Analysis Project
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 Conflict Analysis Project
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 Socio-Economic Rights Base, Conflict Analysis Project
Bodies, Space, and Remembrance Nur Turkmani December, 2021

In this article, Nur Turkmani’s reflects on the ways that Lebanese streets became a place of intimate encounters during the October 2019 Thawra. Turkmani traces the various threats to the body, from the threats of police violence during the Thawra to the immunological threats of COVID-19 as people continued to reclaim public spaces during the early months of 2020, and how women’s bodies were often at the center of these spaces. 

Gender, Lebanon, women, Women Bodies, Public Spaces, Revolution Gender Equity Network

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