Martyrs at the Margins: The Politics of Neglect in Lebanon's Borderlands

Abstract

Events in Lebanon are primarily interpreted through the lens of sectarianism and religious difference. Yet if we look at Lebanon through the lens of politics of space, significant similarities emerge among populations that are otherwise considered different. For instance, communities in Lebanon's geographical borderlands are home to disproportionate numbers of martyrs. As a result of a policy of neglect by elites at Lebanon's political centre, communities of Sunnis and Shiites in North and South Lebanon similarly identify as disenfranchised and oppressed (al-mahrumīn or al-mazlumīn). My research is supported by interviews with families of martyrs of recent violence, analysis of newspaper articles, as well as a reading of roadside martyr images in North and South Lebanon.