Introduction: theoretical implications of the Lebanese case

The research on which this book is based set out to explore how religion intersects with social welfare and social cohesion, primarily in Lebanon, and draw preliminary comparisons with other countries of the Middle East, namely Egypt, Iran and Turkey. Thus, it is the main purpose of this chapter to synthesise the empirical analysis provided in the preceding three chapters by establishing some of the key dimensions of a potential welfare model for the region, which is based on the empirical evidence provided.

I now reassemble, through the tool of a Lebanese ‘welfare model’, the disparate parts of religious welfare mapped out in the preceding chapters. The latter ‘unpacked’ the world of religious welfare into its constitutive actors, moral values and bonds, rules of access and obligation, welfare-promoting strategies and services. This chapter will broaden the analysis by introducing other key dimensions of welfare in Lebanon (and the three other countries), most notably the systems of formal social protection and social insurance as well as other key state and nonstate sectors such as health, education, the market and international development agencies. Thus, this chapter addresses the sixth and elements of the seventh main questions for this book, as outlined in Chapter One:

• • Is there a model of social welfare for the region emanating from the Lebanese case?

• • What are the theoretical and practical implications of the Lebanese case for the future prospects of social policy in the Middle East?

The welfare model discussed in this chapter is called ‘social ethics–welfare particularism’ (henceforth SEWP). It takes into account how social policy is formed in Lebanon as well as its subject content. It is argued here that the latter point is the more distinguishing feature of the model and is what demarcates it particulary from Western social policy. The chapter presents two broad arguments as follows.

First, it presents a configuration of religious welfare in Lebanon through the SEWP model, which shows the main welfare actors, their social exchanges (interactions) and the ties that bind them. It depicts how the welfare strategies and outcomes that exist in this country context diverge from mainstream thinking on social policy, giving rise to the need for new more locally relevant concepts. The main features of the SEWP model are highlighted and an explanation of the historical, cultural and political forces shaping it is provided.