The everyday state :how do the residents of Chiyah perceive and interact with the state on a daily basis? -

Abstract

The Lebanese state defies conventional anthropological conceptions of the state. This thesis presents an attempt to consider notions of the ‘state’ in theory and practice, based on an in depth case study of the southern Beirut suburb of Chiyah. Through an exploration of how the residents of Chiyah a) perceived the ‘state’ and b) interacted with it in their everyday lives, this thesis will illustrate the disjunction between the idea of the state, and the reality. This thesis will then situate this study within the existing body of academic literature on the state.