From silk to concrete: exploring the socio-spatial aspects of the Agrarian question(s) in Mount Lebanon

ABSTRACT

Research on the Southwest Asia North Africa region often focuses on turbulent upheaval and landscape change in urban areas, and less on the rural and agrarian spaces left behind. In this paper, we look at the varying trajectory of landscape change in two neighboring villages in Mount Lebanon with similar geophysical characteristics but very different ecologies and economies. We show how these paths were mediated by capital flows and the changing modes of production and livelihoods. Looking through the lens of the Agrarian Question, we argue for its continued importance in understanding rural landscapes and their place in capitalist development.

KEYWORDS:

• Agrarian question
• socio-spatial analysis
• landscape transformation
• Mount Lebanon

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all of our interlocutors in both Beit Mery and ‘Abadiyya for their time and insights into their villages and communities, especially members of the ‘Abadiyya cooperative. We would also like to give special thanks to Tarek Abou Omar, Rima Maalouf, Hisham Hassan, Michel Mokbel, and Patil Mardigian for their initial help with finding contacts and areas of interest within Beit Mery and ‘Abadiyya.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 It is difficult to obtain more concrete data on population as Lebanon has not conducted a census since 1932.

2 While greater research into tax records and land title transfers should be conducted, local residents also drew connections between the migration of Druze landowners and changing patterns of real estate development.

3 While greater research into the social patterns of former forest use and their impacts on succession is necessary to make any firm claim, here one can see that changes in informal forest management practices, related to changes within the village economy, are a possible factor in the changing landscape of the village.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

William Thomson

Will Thomson is a consulting arborist and landscape designer and holds a MSc in Environmental Science and Ecosystems Management from the American University of Beirut, Lebanon. He is also currently an MLA student at the Spitzer School of Architecture at the City College of New York and Urban Design Forum Forefront Fellow for 2021.