Experiences and Perceptions of the Lebanese toward Cross-Border Movement: Rethinking the Image of “New Phoenicians”
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- TAKAOKA Yutaka
- Middle East Institute of Japan
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- HAMANAKA Shingo
- Faculty of Education, Art and Science, Yamagata University
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- MIZOBUCHI Masaki
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
Bibliographic Information
- Other Title
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- レバノン人の越境移動に関する経験と意識：「新しいフェニキア人」像の再考
- レバノンジン ノ エッキョウ イドウ ニ カンスル ケイケン ト イシキ : 「 アタラシイ フェニキアジン 」 ゾウ ノ サイコウ
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Abstract
The paper considers the experiences and the perceptions of the Lebanese toward cross-border movement and explains its effects on contemporary Lebanese politics and societies. To this end, we analyzed the results of “Middle East Opinion Poll (Lebanon 2010),” which was conducted by the Beirut Center for Research and Information (BCRI) in May and June 2010. There are some widespread stereotyped images about the Lebanese; for example, they are cosmopolitan, multilingual, and business-oriented, and tend to be entrepreneurial. These images have led the Lebanese to be commonly known as the “New Phoenicians” or a typical case of “Trade Diasporas.” However, the credibility of these images has not necessarily been verified. In this paper, therefore, we attempted to verify the stereotyped image that all the Lebanese are cosmopolitan, by scientific methods and rethought conventional wisdom. The result suggests that all the Lebanese and Lebanese emigrants not necessarily embody the stereotyped images of “New Phoenicians” and “Trade Diasporas,” and there is room for further research on the patterns of cross-border movement of the Lebanese.
Journal
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- Annals of Japan Association for Middle East Studies
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Annals of Japan Association for Middle East Studies 28 (1), 35-58, 2012
Japan Association for Middle East Studies (JAMES)