Civil Defense in the Republic of Lebanon : an exploratory study -

Abstract

This thesis aims at exploring Lebanon’s Civil Defense disaster preparedness through its structures and processes. The Civil Defense was chosen because this Agency’s sole responsibility is to protect civilians against emergencies and disasters. This study answers three research questions: First, what is the background to the development of the Civil Defense in Lebanon? Second, what are the legal foundation and responsibilities of the Civil Defense in Lebanon? Third, to what extent are the current Civil Defense structures and processes appropriate and able to meet Lebanon’s disaster management needs? To answer these questions, twenty-eight interviews were conducted among Civil Defense first-responders, heads of regional stations and employees at the Headquarters, in addition to, primary data, such as legal documents. Interviews were conducted in Arabic, translated, transcribed and coded using MAXQDA. This thesis relies on qualitative research. Therefore, data was analyzed using thematic-analysis. Based on the findings a SWOT Analysis is presented presenting the current status of the Lebanese Civil Defense Agency and its abilities to manage disasters. This thesis is not without its limitations, the main limitation is this study’s sample size, which does not allow generalization to Lebanon’s disaster management abilities. However, this thesis will fill a gap in Lebanon’s literature on disaster management. Future research on other disaster-related agencies may result in a comprehensive gap-analysis of Lebanon’s disaster management abilities.