Presenter(s): Raimy Khalife-Hamdan—International Relations, Romance Languages
Session 1: Global Views—We vs. Them
Formerly considered the Paris of the Middle East, Beirut once displayed her millennium-old ties to Europe through architectural glory, refined cuisine, and French schools, which were commodified proof of the 1923–46 French Mandate’s influence on Lebanese society . Now, Europe reclaims its leverage over Lebanon through EU institutions, particularly the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP) . Evident in European Commission documents and social scientists’ research, the EU-Lebanese relationship is asymmetric, especially as Lebanon struggles to absorb over one-and-a-half million Syrian refugees in a population of six million Lebanese . While glamorizing the ENP as a development- inducing instrument that provides aid to the Lebanese community in exchange for economic liberalization and state democratization, the EU utilizes the ENP as a facade of benevolence in order to promote reforms that nurture Europe’s own regional security agenda .
Furthermore, just as the implementation of the ENP is politically-serving, the EU treats the ongoing Syrian refugee crisis as an opportunity to advance its own interests in Lebanon by enforcing refugee containment mechanisms to avoid Europe’s destabilization . As the Syrian refugee crisis worsens, Lebanese debt accrues, and Lebanese civilians are frantic over increasing unemployment, Lebanon has become dangerously reliant upon the ENP . The more Lebanon relies on EU aid, the more likely it will be to submit to reform and lose its political autonomy . Unfortunately, Lebanon seems to lack any other choice .