Citizens beyond the fringe : Dom in Lebanon, destabilizing conceptions of citizenship as social Inclusion -

Abstract

Through a retelling of ethnographic fieldwork with the Dom community in the neighborhood of Hay el Gharbe, this study argues that Dom enjoy virtually no citizenship rights while being Lebanese citizens. Through an investigation into the lives of Dom, this study finds that formal citizenship is not a sufficient condition for the enjoyment of substantive citizenship. Two main factors are presented to explain Dom experience of citizenship. First, severe socioeconomic inequalities experienced by Dom dramatically reduce the ability to act as citizen. As such, the study recommends an examination of the hidden costs of citizenship when discussing citizenship amongst marginalized populations. Second, life in what this study calls a “ state of abandon . Borrowing from Agamben’s concept the “state of exception”, an exploration of the limitations to citizenship in the neighborhood of Hay el Gharbe.