The October 2019 Protests and their Political Aftermath

Abstract

The October 17, 2019, protests in Lebanon can be considered a turning point in the country’s post-civil war history. The movements were Lebanon’s widest and most demographically diverse protests, occurring during its deepest socio-economic crisis in the country’s history, and gained the attention of local and national media outlets which took part in framing the public and international opinion of these protests. The protests also had their share of support and criticism, which makes it significant to explore the current public perception towards these protests, three years after they unfolded. This thesis explored the underlying reasons behind October 17, 2019, protests in Lebanon. It also investigated the perception of the public towards the 2019 public protests and political movements. Using a qualitative and quantitative research method, it collected data from scholarly articles related to protest movements, political movements, the October 17, 2019, protests, in addition to the structural strain theory as a theoretical framework, which posits that deviance is a result of the strain that occurs when individuals are unable to achieve their societal goals through legitimate means. Using a sample of more than 3,000 respondents, the thesis found that most respondents express negative sentiments and perceptions towards October 17 based on several factors: its lack of leadership and organization, lack of clear, unified political vision, being politically infiltrated and its contribution to the consequent socio-economic and political meltdown. Future research is recommended to diversify the data collection methods, expand the scope of the research, and explore the perceptions of the activists and decision makers within the groups of October 17, 2019, in order to provide a well-rounded analysis of the topic.