The dilapidated buildings which dot downtown Beirut are constant reminders of what existed before, what was destroyed during, and what has occurred since the civil war which violently divided the city.

A new social contract is needed in Syria. The Syrian people need to be treated like adults, individuals who are empowered to partake in the social, political and economic future of their country.

The Syrian social movement has to be conscious of the necessity of establishing a just economy. Strong checks need to be built against the post-war government so that all Syrians understand the conditions of aid and consequences of reconstruction plans on their lives and the lives of their children.

Heightened security has so far managed to contain the Sheikh’s roving and provocative marches.

It was only a matter of time before Hezbollah would also join in the fight out of loyalty to a regime dubbed by David Hirst its “midwife”, as well as in an effort to protect its supply routes.

The series of conflicts that besieged Beirut during the Lebanese civil war have radically reconfigured the social and spatial environment of the city we know today.

Islamic Resistance is normally understood as military activism: armed actors using the same ideology and undertaking distinct political aims sometimes using force. But in Dahiyye, 'Resistance' can also be conceived of as a social ethic, one that engages multiple and diverse ethnic and religious identities.