The Arab Spring in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and elsewhere has highlighted the growing importance of the politics of civil society in the contemporary Middle East. In Reproducing Sectarianism, Paul W. T. Kingston examines rights-oriented advocacy networks within Lebanon's postwar civil society, focusing on movements and political campaigns based on gender relations, the environment, and disability. Set within Lebanon's postwar sectarian democracy, whose factionalizing dynamics have long penetrated the country's civil society, Kingston's fascinating study provides an in-depth analysis of the successes and challenges that ensued in promoting rights-oriented social policies. Drawing on extensive field research, including interviews and a wealth of primary documents, Kingston has produced a groundbreaking work that will be of interest to Middle East experts and nonexperts alike.

Preface and Acknowledgments 1. Advocacy Politics within Weak and Fragmented States: A Framework for Analysis 2. Sectarian Democracy in Modern Lebanon: Its Emergence, Consolidation, and Reproduction 3. Struggling for Civic Space: Associated Politics within Lebanon's Postwar Sectarian Democracy 4. Confronting Sectarian "Veto Points": Women's Advocacy Politics in Postwar Lebanon 5. The "Greening" of Sectarianism: The Rise and Fall of Environmental Advocacy in Postwar Lebanon 6. Chehabism from Below? Disability Advocacy and the Challenge of Sustaining Policy Reform Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index