The progressive achievements of past revolutions and civil rights movements seem to be at risk with this recent wave of unleashed hatred, racism and xenophobia.
What is this relapse about? Are we witnessing conditions similar to those of Europe at the turn of the 20th century leading to the rise of Fascism and Nazism? How do we understand this rise of the far right and what are its social repercussions on societies around the world?
Today, globalization and liberal values are in crisis. The idea of the world being a «small village» where the principles of freedom, diversity and inclusion are to be respected is in trouble. The rise of the far right and the spread of a racist and xenophobic discourse signal the vulnerability of the liberal system that preaches «reedoms without giving serious attention to structural inequalities. The fragility of this system that attempts to address social issues through the politics of «culture» and «identity» away from economic conditions becomes apparent with every major economic breakdown, which quickly destabilizes these liberal values of freedom, multiculturalism and inclusion, and allows for the rise of social and political conservatism. In fact, since the financial crash of 1929, each economic crisis has been accompanied by a rise in populist right-wing politics and a wave of heightened racism and xenophobia. This historical observation poses important challenges to post-structuralist and liberal ideologies. What does freedom and diversity mean in a capitalist world where inequalities are stark, exploitation is blatant and migration is necessary yet problematic (especially given colonial histories)? How can we sustain and respect freedoms and diversity in times of economic hardship where competition within the already gendered and racialized labor markets is more ferocious?
In times of crises, «political correctness» fades away and the real dynamics of power and social hierarchies appear more clearly, often taking the ugly shape of racism. Therefore, we cannot understand racism and xenophobia without looking at the broader socio-economic context and structural conditions that facilitate their rise in society. In fact, the repercussions of the financial crisis of 2008 are still unfolding at the social level. High rates of unemployment, economic insecurity, political unrest, ongoing wars, the refugee crisis that has reached Europe, and the global discourse of the «war on terror» have all created a fertile soil for racism, xenophobia and right-wing populism to flourish and to reach power in some Western countries. However, racism is not recent and its perceived rise in the West lately indicates a shift from it being latent and contained to becoming more outspoken and widespread through political campaigning and media coverage. Moreover, racism and populist right-wing politics have manifested themselves in different places around the world with varying intensities depending on their local contexts. In times of instability and unrest, populist slogans related to «security», «strong» leadership, «war on terror», «nationalism», and «border control» can become very appealing everywhere in the world. This is obvious in the Lebanese context.
The political landscape in Lebanon today is dominated by right-wing politics that vary on the sectarian spectrum between liberals and conservatives. Although the main political parties in Lebanon differ in their positions towards the Syrian or Palestinian causes, their right-wing politics clearly converge in their treatment of refugees and migrant workers. All major political parties in Lebanon are complicit in disseminating or allowing a racist culture to spread against migrant workers and refugees without clearly attempting to counter it. Therefore, it is important to highlight that racism and xenophobia are not innate characteristics of some societies or natural outcomes of cultural, racial or ethnic diversity. These are attitudes and behaviors that develop through an active process of «othering» that attempts to portray the «other» as a threat and that uses scapegoating as a strategy to evade responsibility and shift blame in society. Racism is often the result of a discourse that is actively spread by the ruling class and its media outlets in a way that shifts the blame away from the State onto the weaker categories, which are often the refugees and migrants. Therefore, most problems in the country, such as the lack of job opportunities, the electricity shortage, traffic congestion, the housing crisis, high crime rates, can easily be blamed on the refugees without questioning the role and responsibility of the State. Within such a context of heightened racism and populist politics, the State’s crackdown on refugees becomes welcome and tolerated by some citizens, who come to perceive the refugees as a political, economic and security threat. It is in such conditions that the «national security» discourse becomes a priority and takes over all other pertinent social and economic causes.
Therefore, racism is a form of identity politics that discriminates against certain groups in society based on a hierarchy of «identities». Whereas «old racism» is focused on skin color and phenotypical features, «new racism» is more cultural than physical. It discriminates based on nationality, culture, religion, etc. Whereas old racism was linked to slavery and colonization, the rise of new racism is very much linked to globalization, migration and the rise of the nation-state and nationalist ideologies that played on the hardening of the boundaries of certain identity groups in opposition to the «others». Like most other types of identity politics, racism is often successful in masking material and structural conditions by focusing on stereotypes and scapegoating. It manages to pit the poor and the unfortunate against each other by playing the card of identity politics and nationalism. This is clear in Lebanon where, instead of holding the State accountable for the despicable living conditions, a racist discourse has spread blaming the refugees for «taking our jobs», «menacing our political stability», «changing our culture», and «threatening our ways of life». However, although the racist logic attempts to portray the refugees as one homogeneous group and describes a clear hierarchy of identities when it comes to social, political and economic rights, we should not fall in the trap of understanding racism one-dimensionally. A closer examination of the dynamics of racism in Lebanon suggest that racism can only be understood through intersectionality, since it is played out differently depending on the social class, occupation, gender and political position of the refugee.
Syrians in Lebanon are not all perceived and treated equally today. The historical context of the Syrian-Lebanese political and social relations are crucial in understanding the dynamics of these relations today and the conditions providing the fertile ground for racism and discrimination. However, what seems to be most interesting in the analysis of the discourse of racism against Syrian refugees in Lebanon is the clear overlap between classism and racism. The curfews on Syrian refugees that were imposed by more than 45 municipalities in Lebanon perfectly illustrate this point. An examination of the phrasing used in most of the curfew banners reveals clear discrimination against «Syrian» or «foreign» workers specifically, and not against Syrian refugees in general. This is very telling about the dynamics of scapegoating that considers poor refugees workers to be the ones who pose a real threat, not the rich foreign investors or middle class «displaced» Syrians. Therefore, this is not simply plain xenophobic discourse against «foreigners» or refugees in general, but rather a specific one against the working-class refugees who are perceived as an economic burden and a security threat. Interestingly, although the term «refugee» is not used by the Lebanese State given the legal implications of recognizing the Syrians in Lebanon as refugees, the media and public discourses have started using the word «refugee» to refer to the poor Syrians in camps, while using other words such as «visitor», «investor» or «displaced» to refer to the middle or upper-class Syrians in Lebanon. Such a simple analysis of the framing used in curfew banners shows the intersectionality of racism and the centrality of class position in understanding identity-based discrimination such as racism.
Finally, despite the pessimist analysis of the rise of right-wing populism and blatant racism, there is room for optimism today. A closer look at the political dynamics in the world, from the rise of new left-wing movements in Europe (and the unexpected popularity of Jeremy Corbin in the UK) to the political organization against sexism and racism in the US, anti-racism movements in Lebanon, and the renewed mobilization of poor and marginalized communities in the protest movement in the Rif of Morocco, are indicators that 'optimism of the will' is still alive!