From isqat an-nizam at-ta"ifi to the garbage crisis movement: Political identities and antisectarian movements

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the post-2011 antisectarian movements in Lebanon and discusses political identities in the context of sectarian hegemony. It sheds light on practices and acts of citizenship as part of extraordinary moments and movements that challenge the assigned and stable defi nitions of identities and status. By conceptualising the metaphor of a "sectarian ghost", it demonstrates that while sectarianism plays a major role in terms of the conscious strategy of activists with antisectarian demands, it also plays a subconscious role in the positioning of those activists. This does not inhibit the actions and practices of citizenship: Instead, although the ghost often pervades discourses on and within the movements, it does not hinder demands for material or immaterial rights challenging something other than sectarianism, from not-in-my-backyard (NIMBY) demands to the downfall of the regime.