Delegitimisation of cross-sectional parties and groups in Lebanon after the October 2019 protests

This paper proposes to look at the various formal and informal delegitimisation mechanisms in the wake, and the aftermath of, the October 2019 protests in Lebanon (sometimes termed the October Revolution). The research will look at discourse from political, social and religious elites as well as institutional methods of discouraging and constraining representation from October 2019 to the 2022 parliamentary elections. Its focus will specifically be on the analysis of speeches, interviews and other communications delivered by Lebanese political elites and traditional parties, as well as on any exclusionary institutional requirements for groups and parties that have claimed to represent cross-sectional interests. The aim is to understand how much of a role this played in performances for those groups in the 2022 election, and whether or not they were effectively delegitimised with regard to formal and informal political representation.