The political, social and economic transformations among Lebanese students after the uprising of October 17th

The Project

The Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung Beirut Office is looking for proposals for a research project on the political, social and economic transformations among Lebanese students after the uprising of October, 17^th.

The “Lebanese revolution of October 2019” was one of the biggest uprisings that the country witnessed in its latest history. One of its main protagonists were the country’s youth, especially college and university students. For these young people the uprising and its course in the last months were defining moments in their political socialization process. This can be seen among others in the latest outcomes of students’ elections in many universities in Lebanon. Likewise, the surrounding political and economic circumstances in Lebanon (the economic crisis, the spread of COVID-19, the explosion of August 4^th 2020) shaped the daily life as well the self-concept and political and social mind-set of many young people in Lebanon.

Therefore, the RLS Beirut Office is seeking to conduct a research project looking at the situation and especially the transformations that these young people underwent in the course of the last year, since October 2019 until the end of 2020. The project will not only look at the impact of the October 19^th uprising but also at the ramifications of the financial and economic crisis, the spread of the Corona-virus and the explosion at the port of Beirut on August 4^th, 2020. It will analyse how these events and circumstances contributed to the transformation of the individual and collective identities of students in Lebanon.

The project wants to deal with the following topics:

• The impact of the participation in the uprising on the collective and individual identities of young people in Lebanon
• The emergence of new groups of young people in the uprising, transcending confessional, socio-economic and old political boundaries
• The emergence of new public spaces and the transformation of existing public spaces into political, social and cultural spaces within the uprising
• The participation of young women in the uprising and the role of feminist demands and ideas in the uprisings
• The impact of the economic crisis on the ability of students to pay the university’s tuition and to continue their studies in Lebanon
• The changes of relations and daily lives of young people during the COVID-19 related lockdown in March and April 2020
• The explosion and its impact on the politicization of students
• The psychological shock that the explosion had on the daily lives of young people

The methodology of the study is envisaged to be a mixture of qualitative and quantitative methods, including semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions and surveys.

The outcome of the project will be a comprehensive study of approximate 30,000 and 50,000 words. It will be published in English and Arabic.

Time frame of the project: 4 - 6 months

Starting Date: 01/01/2021

Requirements of the applicant

• Good analytical and factual understanding of the topic of politics, economy and society in Lebanon in general and the uprising of the last years in particular
• A background in social sciences and experiences in working in this field
• Excellent knowledge of qualitative and quantitative methodology in social sciences
• Good knowledge of the uprisings’ youth movement and the Lebanese university system
• Ability to lead a team of research assistants
• Good and proven ability to work independently
• Very good communication and Arabic/English language skills
• Sharing the understandings and values of RLS

What we offer:

• Creative and independent work on a highly important issue
• Collaboration with a friendly and committed RLS-Team
• Contract of work and service for the duration of the project.
• Adequate payment