The Emergence of Right-Wing Populism in Lebanon

Abstract

This thesis provides a thorough analysis of populism as a strategic tool adopted by a majority-Christian Lebanese political party, the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), to woo its constituents, with a particular focus on Lebanon’s 2018 parliamentary elections. After examining the literature on sectarianism, populism and the FPM, the study analyses the tweets of Member of Parliament, then president, Michel Aoun and Member of Parliament and current FPM leader Gebran Bassil between 2012 until 2020. The study draws comparisons between the populist rhetoric of the FPM leaders and the rhetoric of rightwing politicians in Europe and the USA (mainly former US president Donal J. Trump). The main contribution of the study lies in investigating an under-researched manifestation of populism, namely sectarian populism. The study contends that Lebanon, a deeply sectarian country, constituted a fertile ground for populism to infiltrate the political system, providing politicians and relatively new political movements, such as the FPM, with the means to challenge more traditional leaders and draw popular support mainly from a specific sectarian group.