Diaspora versus Refugee. The Political Economy of Lebanese Entrepreneurship Regimes

This paper engages with the duality of Lebanese migrant entrepreneurship and juxtaposes the

veneration of the Lebanese entrepreneurship diaspora with the marginalization of Palestinian

entrepreneurial capacity. I argue that the main rationale for the paradox of

Lebanon’s

simultaneous championing and undermining of entrepreneurial potential should be sought in

its highly sectarian and elitist political order. Whereas the ascendancy of the Lebanese

diaspora(s) was boosted in sectarian struggles for political and economic power, the

economic relegation of the Palestinian refugees is part of a comprehensive regime of

sectarian neutralization.