The politics of economic interest groups in a Lebanese town

Abstract

As a result of sustained economic growth over the past few decades, new formal groups based on specific economic interests have been formed in Lebanon. These organizations which represent developing social and political forces, have become substantially involved in the politics of the town of Zahlah, the setting of this study. The purpose of this paper is to describe and to analyze the political relationships between one type of formal economic interest group, the syndicates of owners of small businesses, and the balance of the political structure: the government, established political leaders, other formal economic interest organizations, and the society in general. Evidence will be presented which indicates that in the context of the town of Zahlah, the relationship between these syndicates, whose membership stems mostly from the middle and lower middle strata, and the established political leadership and other economic interest groups, which are dominated by the upper stratum, is characterized by strain and at times overt, but mild antagonism. Their conflict is based on competition for political following in the town of Zahlah and on the basic question of how the total economic pie is to be divided. However, in spite of this antagonism, the syndicates have found it necessary to seek the often reluctant support and co-operation of these upper strata in order to realise particular political goals. This process will be described first through an examination of the syndicates and their relations with other segments of the society and second through two extended examples which will indicate how the syndicates functioned in two separate kinds of situations: a regional issue which in theory does not impair the interests of any of Zahlah's strata and another issue which is specifically related to the economic interests of small businessmen. Most studies on politics in Lebanon usually pass over or ignore the activities of the organized economic interest groups in favour of a concentration on the more established political forces: the president and the cabinet, members of parliament, religious divisions, and political parties of the left and right. An important aspect of this study then is its focus on these relatively new groups and their developing role in the social and political structure in contrast to the prevailing emphasis on the more established political forces. Consequently, this paper is an attempt to open new ground and in the process will probably leave more questions unanswered than it answers.