Expert: Beirut explosion highlights corruption in Lebanon

Many experts on Lebanese politics believe the massive explosion in the capital city of Beirut was emblematic of ongoing governmental corruption in the country. Kelly Stedem agrees.

Stedem, a PhD candidate in the politics department at Brandeis University, recently defended her dissertation, which argues that political services in Lebanon operate on a “clientelistic” basis, meaning that the exchange of goods and services from the government are conditional on things like political support from citizens.

The August 4th, 2020 explosion caused more than 190 deaths, 6,500 injuries, and leaving an estimated 300,000 people homeless. The source was a large amount of ammonium nitrate stored in Beirut.

Here, Stedem discusses the explosion and what the aftermath could mean for the country’s already charged political climate:

The post Expert: Beirut explosion highlights corruption in Lebanon appeared first on Futurity.