Abu-Rish: Lebanon's Uprising in a Time of Crisis [2bafac15]

Many crises at play here:

1. Financial Crisis

   • Literal shortage of dollars

2. Fiscal Crisis

   • Chronic deficit

     • Large chunk of spending (1/3rd) is used for just servicing debt
3. Employment Crisis

4. Infrastructure Crisis

   • Most people pay 2 electricity bills & water bills

5. Political Crisis

   • Electoral politics has failed to provide a solution

• Greviances go beyond the whatsapp tax

  • whatsapp tax is very minor overall
• Protests were largely big tent

• State deployed a variety of violent tactics

  • Army to contain movement
  • Military tribunals for protestors
  • Thugs

• Politicians ended up disappearing from the public view

  • Now trying to rewrite the history of the protests
• Attempt in early march to coalse the movement

• Government was so willing to shut down the country because it would also disperse the protests

• Lebanese Center for Policy Studies
• Lebanese Politics Podcast
• Habib Mastah
• "The Public Source" - lebanon
• "Megaphone" - lebanon

• Comparison of Lebanon and HK?
• "political entrepenur" - neoglism coined by makdisi
• the lira peg was largely to make investing in lebanon a safe habor for disapora

• health care in Lebanon is largely privatized

  • although health care in iraq is also privatized