Political use of sports in Lebanon after Taef agreement : Qualitative Research ; L'usage politique du sport au Liban durant la période de l'après- Taëf : Participation-Observante du milieu libanais

Abstract

Lebanon is the smallest country in the Middle-East characterized by its multi confessional political system. This system impacts all the aspects of social activities including sports. After the eruption of the civil war from 1975 until 1990, the existence of multiple religious communities on a limited geographical area, led to rethink their redistribution within the Lebanese government in order to ensure equity between 18 different religious groups that represent the majority of political parties during the post Taef era. This PhD project aims to examine the essence of "political use of sports" within the Lebanese sport sector or the "politicization of sport" (politics) in Lebanon and how political involvement will affect sport activities in Lebanon. Through a qualitative methodological design more specifically a Participant Observation study, I took advantage of my political affiliation to AMAL party to examine closely the various actors in the Lebanese sport sector. The study began by examining the overall structure of Sports in Lebanon starting at it emergence in official texts mainly in the Lebanese constitution. Afterwards, I gathered a body of literature by the means of my political resources in order to analyze a posteriori the relevant information. Inductive analysis was used to extract chore meanings related to politicization of sport and to highlight political manipulation of sports in Lebanon. Growth of certain sport disciplines became sometimes totally dependent on political parties' agendas ; Le Liban est l'un des pays les plus petits de la région. Le système politique multi confessionnel constitue la marque principale de la société libanaise. En fait, cette spécificité intervient dans tous les aspects de la société, y compris le secteur sportif. Suite à la guerre civile qui a éclaté dans le pays de 1975 jusqu'à 1990, cette distribution religieuse, et les communautés qui en résultent, sur une surface géographique restreinte, ont rapidement conduit à penser la nécessité d'avoir un gouvernement qui ...