The Lebanese power sharing consociational system has structurally engendered recurring protest cycles: student mobilisations, labour and union mobilising, left-wing collectives, as well as a more routinised associative sector. In a long temporality, and looking at these movements in a longitudinal approach, changes they appear to be seeking appear to be marginal or quite limited, which may lead to the observation that contentious movements play the role of mere relief outlet within the system they are challenging, hence, contributing to the permanence of the social and political structures they are challenging. 
The past year has witnessed the emergence of a mobilisation cycle in the country that displays a continuity with previous forms of organising, although unprecedented in terms of its geographical spread over the territory. 
To understand how this current protest cycle unfolds, its dynamics, and limits, we propose to consider how social actors “move” in a contested, competitive, ever-shifting and evolving arena, rather than a homogeneous one. We rely on a three-fold conceptual approach that focuses on the analysis of the interactions and dynamics between actors, and the strategies they employ: persuasion, coercion, and retribution.

Preventing possible tensions between refugees and the host population has become a policy priority for countries hosting large numbers of refugees. In addition to local, national and international humanitarian actors, faith-based actors from both host and refugee communities attempt to prevent any tension, as it may disrupt public order, migrant integration and social cohesion. However, little is known about the mechanisms and strategies used by refugee-led faith-based actors to take a role in reducing tensions between host-community and refugees. This article examines refugee-organised faith-based actors’ capabilities, limits and interactions with host city actors in conflict prevention, by drawing from the case of Şanlıurfa, a Turkish border province which hosts half a million Syrian refugees. Based on ethnographic field research, including interviews and participant observation, as well as the analysis of local media outlets, the paper focuses on the engagements of faith-based actors of Syrian refugee community with the local actors of Şanlıurfa. Findings illustrate that faith-based actors are able to prevent escalation of social tensions in early stages when they coordinate and cooperate with local political and humanitarian actors. However, their effectiveness in preventing tensions in later stages remains limited and does not fully eliminate the risk of violence, as such tensions are often underpinned by socio-economic factors. Finally, the case shows that faith-based actors’ engagement in refugee-host community relations lead to small but significant contributions that come with risks and challenges. 
 

Since 2011, political, social, environmental, and economic instability in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has sparked large transnational population movements that have stressed existing state and non-state migration management systems to capacity. This has created opportunities for new actors – including national and international non-governmental organisations (NGOs), intergovernmental organisations (IGOs), and even regional and municipal administrations – to assume roles traditionally performed by national governments. Against this background, this paper seeks to shed light on recent changes in Turkey’s border governance, particularly concerning its relationship to the European Union (EU). 

The paper focuses on the roles of and interaction between various local, international and supranational actors (both state and non-state). Drawing on concepts of governance, the paper critically analyses Turkey’s approach to border management since 2011. It argues that the EU and the Syrian mass migration are the most significant forces of change in Turkey’s border management, which seems to have become more inclusive and open to different actors such as NGOs or IGOs, and Turkish state actors exclusively assume a control function, while NGOs and IGOs are assigned a care function. It is informed by fieldwork conducted between July and November 2018 at the main sea border-crossing points of Turkey’s Mediterranean coast. 
 

تُركِّز هذه الدراسة على ديناميكيات القوة بين الحكومة اللبنانية والمجتمع الدولي في إطار الاستجابة لتوافد اللاجئين السوريين إلى لبنان اعتبارًا من عام 2011. تبحثُ الدراسة في العلاقة بين القوة والمصلحة لاستكشاف دوافع الجهتَيْن وأدوات التفاوض التي تستخدمانها بجوانبها المتعدّدة، كما تسعى إلى رسم خارطة التفاعلات والتوتُّرات والخطابات المضادّة القائمة بينهما. ترتكز المنهجية المُعتمَدة على سلسلةٍ من المقابلات المعمّقة مع عددٍ من ممثّلي المجتمع الدولي والمسؤولين اللبنانيين والجهات الفاعلة في المجتمع المدني. وتشتمل أيضًا على زياراتٍ ميدانية وتحليلٍ لمجموعة كبيرة من الوثائق، فضلًا عن دراسة الأدبيات العلمية والمصادر الإعلامية. وتعتبر هذه الدراسة أنّ مصالح الجهات المانحة الدولية تتخطى نطاق الشواغل الإنسانية، لتشمل اعتباراتٌ لها علاقة بالسياسة الخارجية الرامية إلى منع اللاجئين السوريين من الهجرة إلى أوروبا. في حين تُشجِّع الحكومة اللبنانية من جهتها إعادة توطين اللاجئين، كما تُشجِّع مؤخّرًا عودتَهم إلى سوريا، لا سيّما من خلال تطبيق سياسات تستهدف اللاجئين السوريين في لبنان. ويلفت المقال إلى بروز أنماط متباينة بين المجتمع الدولي والحكومة، في موازاة لجوء السلطات اللبنانية إلى استخدام "القوة المُنتِجة" لتعزيز موقفها التفاوضي في سبيل طلب تمويل إضافي.