The involvement of our fathers in politics evolved after the independence of the Arab countries from the British and French occupations. Back then, there was enthusiasm among us Arabs and this enthusiasm gave a kind of confidence and hope in re-building our own homelands in the way we wanted.
During the 1960s and 70s, many setbacks arose however resulting in oppression of people and corruption. This prompted the youth to become frustrated and stay away from entering politics as older generations were in firm control of the state. It was natural for the youth to feel this way, but they should never be denied access to politics.
Lebanese youth can be considered less involved in political parties these days, but we cannot generalise. For example, we find a great involvement of youths in ideological parties that practice politics in Lebanon. As for other political parties, the youth are less involved in them, due to the failure of these parties to build a strong homeland.
It was expected that Lebanon would be strong and the political parties would work on developing the country, creating job opportunities for its people and creating unity and cohesion. But political parties in Lebanon work in a different way than their counterparts in other countries. They are based on continuous political disputes, which lead to the failure to find solutions to our economic crises, immigration and the lack of job opportunities. The parties failed to build a strong homeland, which the youth wants. Therefore, many young people may move away from involvement in political parties, but not from political action in general. If the issue requires an opinion poll, it may be the opposite (in sociology we say Rome from above is different from Rome on the ground). Things on the ground are different from the way we perceive things.
Arab youth get involved when they find that their work makes a difference. The problem is not the youth’s involvement in politics, but rather the structure of the political system in Lebanon.
