Opinion: The Flames of Protest

A fresh round of protests spread across troubled Lebanon this week. This time, however, the protests cut across the whole of Lebanon’s ordinarily sectarian society: Christian, Shia, Sunni, and Druze alike are demanding the end of not just their current government, but the end of the Lebanese regime, Al-Monitor reports. Accusations of inadequate social services and an impotent government have been met with tear gas and sweeping arrests. Not to mention, parts of Lebanon are literally on fire, according to Foreign Policy, and the government does not seem able to fix even that.

In Iraq, under fire from security forces and militias, thousands of protesters are doing something quite similar: demanding not reforms and restitution but an end to a government system that does not serve them, according to the Washington Post. The Atlantic Council reports that protests have flared in majority-Shia centers against a Shia government, a notable departure from sectarian loyalties.

The reforms promised by these governments echo past hollow promises, and the Iraqis and Lebanese risking life and limb to protest are intent on achieving their goals. The protesters are likely aware that, to achieve their goals, the end of their current regime will require the establishment of a new one.

Yet the protesters do not seem to be championing policies or parties of their own. While political elites may label such behavior anarchic and destructive, it seems to have prevented the political establishment from fielding candidates or policies that could claim to repair the system and placate voters. The protesters refuse to be co-opted. “[The political leaders] don’t represent us. We don’t want parties anymore. We don’t want anyone to speak in our name,” an unnamed Iraqi protester told Al Jazeera.

Maybe this destruction is vital. Only after the old regimes have burned to the ground—the corruption, sectarianism, hollow promises, all of it—can the protesters plant the seeds of the societies they wish to grow.