Civil society in a sectarian context. (c2010)

Abstract

This thesis problematizes the literature underscoring the role of civil society in bringing about democratic reforms, complementing the most recent approaches in studying the persistence of authoritarianism in the Arab world but moves away from them by focusing on the highly fragmented context of Lebanon where sectarian leaders developed strategies towards women’s advocacy community to impede gender social policy reforms and democratic outcomes. It thus focuses on the limited success that the women’s movement in Lebanon achieved since its inception. The thesis examines the strategies of the sectarian ruling elite vis-à-vis women’s rights NGOs to explain how they may neutralize, divide, co-opt and manipulate these associations to preserve their sectarian control or use them to further their own political interests. This thesis also argues that sectarian leaders are not the only party to blame for the neutralization of women’s groups, but also elite women with strong ties to the sectarian and religious leaders play an instrumental role in this process. This, consequently, impedes prospects for gender-based reforms and democratic consolidation. Grassroots women’s demands are downplayed as they upset the formal and informal pillars of political power in Lebanon: sectarianism and clientelism. In this deeply divided context, civic groups seeking gender equality and a greater democratization of the system are only allowed to raise issues that consolidate or, at best, fail to challenge the hegemony of the sectarian ruling elites and their social allies. Moreover, this thesis examines the role of international funding and their gender agendas in Lebanon. It contends that international aid agencies’ policies and strategies in Lebanon strengthen the sectarian hegemony of the ruling elite and impedes prospects for real women’s empowerment.