The Labour Movement in Lebanon: Power on Hold

The Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs (IFI) at the American University of Beirut cordially invites you to the book launch of ‘The Labour Movement in Lebanon: Power on Hold’ (Manchester University Press, 2022) by Lea Bou Khater.

The launch event will take place in the Basile Antoine Meguerdiche Conference Hall (IFI Auditorium) on Tuesday, November 8, 2022 at 5:00 pm (Beirut time).

About the Book:

The Labour Movement in Lebanon: Power on Hold narrates the history of the Lebanese labour movement from the early twentieth century to today. Bou Khater demonstrates that trade unionism in the country has largely been a failure, for reasons including state interference, tactical co-optation, and the strategic use of sectarianism by an oligarchic elite, together with the structural weakness of a service-based laissez-faire economy. Drawing on a vast body of Arabic-language primary sources and difficult-to-access archives, the book’s conclusions are significant not only for trade unionism, but also for new forms of workers’ organizations and social movements in Lebanon and beyond. The Lebanese case study presented here holds significant implications for the wider Arab world and for comparative studies of labour. This authoritative history of the labour movement in Lebanon is vital reading for scholars of trade unionism, Lebanese politics and political economy.

About the Author:

Lea Bou Khater is a lecturer in Critical Development Studies. She holds a PhD in Development Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.

List of Discussants:

Moderator & Discussant

Jamil Mouawad is a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Studies and Public Administration at the American University of Beirut and a Senior Fellow at the Arab Reform Initiative.

Discussants

Joseph Daher teaches at the University of Lausanne and co-directs the “Syrian Trajectories: Challenges and Opportunities for Peacebuilding” research project at the European University Institute in Florence. He is the author of “Hezbollah: The Political Economy of Lebanon’s Party of God” (2016) and “Syria after the Uprisings, The Political Economy of State’s Resilience” (2019).

Nikolas Kosmatopoulos is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Studies and Public Administration and the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Media Studies at the American University of Beirut.