PhD defence
The Politics of Citizenship: Governing Religion through Refugee Control in Lebanon
- R. Al Sabri Halawi
- Date
- Wednesday 8 October 2025
- Time
- Address
- Lokhorstkerk
Pieterskerkstraat 1
2311 SV Leiden
Supervisor(s)
Summary
Lebanon, a small Middle Eastern country, with a long history of population movements, has welcomed several migratory flows since 1948 to date and sheltered approximately around 2.8 million refugees in 2023, representing the highest number of refugees per capita worldwide and as much as 10% of the total refugee population in the world. While most of these refugees seem to belong to one religion, managing their presence in Lebanon and their integration within the Lebanese society seems to be challenging, considering the sensitive confessional composition, the consociational concordant-based political system, and the constant power struggle resulting from the political structure in place.
The dissertation specifically focuses on the two key elements of the Lebanese case which are concerned with the maintenance of religion and demographical balance, and the management of refugee groups in the context of mobility. The first element is the practical outcome of the adoption of a consociational concordant political system in a society composed of 18 different communities, all of which competing to gain and/or maintain political power, which engenders an increased polarization between these communities and generates institutional paralysis. The second element is the concept of ‘crimmigration’ understood within the ‘governing through dynamics’ as materialized in the Global North scholarship and explored in light of the Lebanese political structure and sensitive politico-confessional framework in the context of South-South migration.
The analysis illustrates that, as opposed to what seems to influence policymaking, lawmaking and the governance of migration and refugees in the Global North, in Lebanon, it appears that the close monitoring of demography, and therefore the access to citizenship, is important to maintain political stability, further complicating decision-making over refugee governance.
PhD dissertations
Approximately one week after the defence, PhD dissertations by Leiden PhD students are available digitally through the Leiden Repository, that offers free access to these PhD dissertations. Please note that in some cases a dissertation may be under embargo temporarily and access to its full-text version will only be granted later.
Press enquiries (journalists only)
+31 (0)71 527 1521
nieuws@leidenuniv.nl
General information
Beadle's Office
pedel@bb.leidenuniv.nl
+31 71 527 7211