| Everyday Sectarianism in Urban Lebanon: Infrastructures, Public Services, and Power Subjects: Civil society -- Lebanon; Religion and civil society -- Lebanon; Municipal services -- Political aspects -- Lebanon; Public welfare -- Political aspects -- Lebanon; Public welfare -- Religious aspects; Infrastructure (Economics) -- Lebanon; Lebanon -- Pol; What causes violent conflicts around the Middle East? All too often, the answer is sectarianism--popularly viewed as a timeless and intractable force that leads religious groups to conflict. In Everyday Sectarianism in Urban Lebanon , Joanne Nucho shows how wrong this perspective can be. Through in-depth research with local governments, NGOs, and political parties in Beirut, she demonstrates how sectarianism is actually recalibrated on a daily basis through the provision of essential services and infrastructures, such as electricity, medical care, credit, and the planning of bridges and roads. Joanne Randa Nucho is a Mellon-Chau postdoctoral fellow in anthropology at Pomona College. |