Many scholars have discussed the role and opportunities of social media in protests and uprisings. Often these studies highlight the potential of social media as an outlet for making your voice heard, calling for action and for reaching out to the outside world about ongoing events. Few investigate the less expressive, latent, forms of political participation and the dynamics with more active, manifest, participation. With the aim of increasing our understanding of the dynamics between latent online and manifest offline political participation, this paper examines possible shifts from the latent online to manifest offline participation, focusing on the October 2019 uprising in Lebanon. In this thesis I theorize that people are somewhat aware and interested in politics. Along with information flows and social network ties, latent online participation is expected to shift into manifest offline participation. It uses original survey data with a sample of 176 Lebanese students, which is analyzed through a series of regression models. The results show some support for the theorized correlation, with varied effects among the indicators for latent online engagement. This study does not allow us to make a definitive statement about this relationship; nevertheless, it does suggest that latent online engagement can shift into manifest offline political participation for at least one of the latent categories, to various extent. Furthermore, this thesis contributes to the field of political participation, social media studies as well as contributing to broadening the discussion on the conditions for democratization in the age of social networking.

The social instability of the Middle East is often assumed to be consequential predominantly from the influences of extreme traditional Islamic practices; with substantial prominence placed upon the treatment of and violence against Middle Eastern women. This discussion seeks to directly prove the prevalence of Islamic influence on Middle Eastern politics and the resulting social instability. This assessment is designed around an interdisciplinary examination of coalescent factors. By assessing the political history, social and cultural lifestyle, and political and legal situation of the region, the assessment examines the contributors to the social instability of Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and Turkey. The principal conclusion of this narrative is that the influences of extreme traditional Islamic values have a direct influence on the social instability and gender equality exhibited in Islamic Middle Eastern nation-states.

In theory, microfinance is a system of decentralized bankers lending to the poor in order to improve economic systems and emphasize entrepreneurial development. Specifically, within the Middle East and North Africa region, the poor economic performances have been closely linked to poor savings and investments. This thesis explores the various factors which affect the microfinance sector in three countries in the Middle East and North Africa region: Algeria, Tunisia, and Lebanon. Algeria, Tunisia, and Lebanon, have similar cultural and political histories that could potentially affect the development of microfinance within the state. Microfinance institutes aim at economic improvements, but the success of microfinance is contingent on different factors in disparate countries. For this reason, focusing on these particular former French countries make it possible to assess if the history and government policies of a country have an impact on the extent to which microfinance is incorporated in the alleviation of poverty.

This project is a romantic exploration of a site and a way of life. It is a proposition for blended boundaries between inside and out, between hill and house, as well as a study of mobility concerning a steep slope. Set in Lebanon overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, the house is carved from the hill yet respects its topography. The hill becomes the communal spaces and rooms of the house. These uncovered spaces and stairways lead to small private spaces, separated by elevation as well as distance due to the accommodating hill. The Mediterranean climate is ideal, with its low rainfall, for outdoor living. The hill provides enough separation and privacy between each private room to function well for extended, multigenerational families. Each family has a similar viewing angle to the sea. / Master of Architecture

No / This report is concerned with fragmented skeletal remains dating to the Middle Bronze Age that were excavated in the 2001 campaign at Sidon, Lebanon. From 19 discrete burial units a total of 31 individuals were identifiedand assessed as to their biological characteristics. The majority of adults who could be sexed were male, many of them strongly built. The overall age distribution in this sample is characterised by a pattern commonly found in prehistoric assemblages, with high mortality during infancy and early childhood and a peak in adult mortality during early adulthood. There is a conspicuous occurrence of unusual dental traits. Jar burials, all found with remains of sub-adult individuals, represent a burial practice applied to children of a wide age range. Many burials are associated with faunal remains, mostly of sheep or goats, but also of large ungulates.

The Middle East saw much social change in recent tumultuous decades. On one hand, some communities embraced Westernness as part of the inevitable path to development and modernization. On the other hand, there were communities that resisted global trends that were mostly dominated by the West. The latter deemed these trends as a threat to native cultures, religious groups, and local traditions. This made the Arab world a ground for constant redefinition of the meaning of identity. Of the countries in the region undergoing a turbulent debate over what constitutes national identity, Lebanon serves as a good example. Ever since its independence, Lebanon was a nation-state with no sense of nationality to unite its people. As some communities saw themselves more francophone than Arab, others felt a close connection to a pan-Arab nation. Arguably, the Lebanese people found themselves amidst a tension between the two poles. Defining one’s identity required a negotiation between the two extremes. Not only did this negotiation demand a thorough investigation of one’s beliefs, social network, and history, but it also necessitated a diligent ‘performance’ of identity. An individual represented her identity by habits and expressions that she associated with that particular identity. The study at hand is an exploration of the relationship between identity and consumption in the Lebanese society. This project applies a unique approach in that it considers the producers’ agency in the construction of identity. Taking television advertising as a site for inquiry, the study explores how commercial advertisers utilize the tension between the local and the non-local to promote the consumption of the advertised products. Through exploring the values that educate advertising producers’ choices in creating text and meaning, this study applies theories of globalization, postcolonial studies, and consumer behavior through which advertisers manifest an ambivalence of identity. Therefore, by taking Lebanon as an example and focusing on advertising, this study contributes to the debates of globalization and the Arab world by invoking questions of producers’ agency in producing identity references through attitudes, behaviors, and social status associated with the featured products. / text

This thesis explores the relations between the Druze emir Fakhr al-Din II Ma'n and three successive Medici Grand Dukes between 1605 and 1633. Eschewing traditional historiographical concerns with the origins of Lebanese nationalism and the cultural encounter between East and West, I have sought first and above all to locate relations between this powerful emir and the Court of Tuscany within the broader context of Mediterranean history. / I suggest that the actions of Fakhr al-Din and of the Medici Grand Dukes have to be understood in relation to broad, long-term trends in the economic and social history of the Mediterranean. I explore two of these trends in detail: the breakdown in commercial and diplomatic relations between Florence (and then Tuscany) and the Ottoman empire during the course of the sixteenth century; the bargaining between the Porte and provincial power-holders in the Syrian provinces in the century following the Ottoman conquest.

Thesis (M.M.A.S.)--U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, 2007. / Cover title. AD-A475 691. Includes bibliographical references. Electronic version available on the Public STINET.

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