Abstract:
This thesis investigates how the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), a prominent Lebanese political party, utilized populist discourse to securitize Syrian refugees in Lebanon between 2012 and 2023, and analyzes the ramifications for refugee governance. Following the massive influx of Syrian refugees after 2011, Lebanon's initial relatively open policy shifted towards a more restrictive approach. This study argues that the FPM, led by Gebran Bassil, played a crucial role in this shift by framing Syrian refugees as an existential threat to Lebanon's security, economy, and national identity through populist rhetoric. Employing a multidimensional framework of populism and securitization theory, this research utilizes Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to meticulously deconstruct the FPM’s, particularly Gebran Bassil’s discourse across political statements, media discourse, and social media posts, primarily X (formally known as twitter). The analysis reveals how the FPM constructed anti-Syrian refugee narratives across economic, cultural, and security dimensions, portraying them as a burden, a threat to national identity and the delicate sectarian balance, and a source of instability. The thesis demonstrates how the Gebran Bassil’s populist securitization discourse, embedded within Lebanon’s sectarian structure and economic vulnerabilities, contributed to the hindering of rights-based approaches to refugee management and the promotion of restrictive policies. This discourse reinforced a climate conducive to “strategic institutional ambiguity” in refugee governance and influenced municipal-level actions. Ultimately, this research provides a nuanced understanding of how populist discourse functions as a tool for securitization in the context of mass migration within a complex sectarian state, shaping the narrative and governance of Syrian refugees in Lebanon.
