The Securitization of the Syrian Refugee Crisis as a Mode of Governmentality: The Free Patriotic Movement in Lebanon

Abstract

Following the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War (2011-present), Syria’s neighboring countries and Western states alike have voiced concerns over the large refugee influx transpiring. While some states warmly welcomed the waves of refugee influxes, others resorted to adopting extreme stringent measures. Neighboring country and long-term ally, Lebanon, first adopted an open-door policy (2011-2014) towards Syrian asylum seekers and then, shortly after, shifted into imposing restrictive measures and framing Syrian refugees as threats to its national security (2014-present). The present study sets out to examine how securitization, framing a targeted group as a security threat, comes into play in the Lebanese context. It focuses on the primary agents of securitization in Lebanon, the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), by means of a qualitative case study analysis, a focus on speech acts and policy outcomes. The findings of this study suggest that securitization has proven successful in the Lebanese context owing to socio-historical factors. The study also demonstrates, through the Foucauldian concept of governmentality, how the FPM securitizes Syrian refugee presence to reaffirm their pastoral power and mask their political failures internally.