Irhal means: Leave! It is one of the most widespread slogans in the language of the so-called Arab uprisings and this simple word represents very well the cry of protesters’ demands in the popular uprisings arose across almost all the Arab world, the popular quest for a political and social change against the repressive, ineffective, corrupt policies by authoritarian, neo-patrimonial regimes. – Patrizia Manduchi, University of Cagliari.
In the framework of the IRHAL project, funded by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International cooperation, the Italian University of Cagliari and three Lebanese universities members of the UNIMED network (Lebanese University, Lebanese International University, USEK – Holy Spirit of Kaslik) have joined efforts to carry out a research with the aim to analyse the participation of the youth community (and within it specifically students) in the protest movements that took place in Lebanon in 2019.
The final report, titled “Lebanon: between aspiration of changes and the ancient regime” and edited by Marco Di Donato and Patrizia Manduchi, is available here.
Thanks to the collaboration with Lebanese academicians and a well-structured field research performed in the country, authors have been able to present an unusual point of view with respect to some crucial issues that are affecting nowadays Lebanon, with the aim of providing “food for thought” and contribute to the debate related to the immediate future of the country and the role that youth can eventually play.