Student Elections at the American University of Beirut (AUB)

The ever insightful correspondents of from Babylon to Beyond, the Middle East LA Times blog, have a post on upcoming student council elections at the American University of Beirut (AUB). I've stood in and covered union elections in my time, but their significance pales when you realise what these elections can show us about Lebanon and the Middle East.

Groups standing include the March 14 movement, which in the real Lebanese political environment is led by the son of Rafik Hariri, Saad and the March 8 movement, which is the pro-Hezbollah, pro-Syrian group. And I thought factions could be a problem in the NUS!

Obviously, this could be a healthy element of political activism and of engagement within wider society for students. However, it could also be unnecessarily reinforcing factional differences in Lebanon, in a country already divided along too many sectarian lines.

A member of one of the groups within the March 14 movement, Nadim, has a guest post on Beirutspring about the AUB elections. He says:

'The American University of Beirut can be considered a microcosm of Lebanese society and the results of this latest poll couldn’t have been more conclusive: The Lebanese youth has reasserted its attachment to democracy, independence and progress.'

He was speaking about the success of his group, Tajaddod Youth, who blog here (and are on Facebook as well).

Also see an excerpt from a journal article on the AUB's previous student elections here. There is also a five-year old article by Gary C. Gambill on student elections in Lebanon: their dynamics, their trends and their history.

Considering the lack of free elections in much of the Middle East, and the highly complicating and factional elements which tend to infringe on those contests when they do take place (Lebanon, Iraq), the significance of student elections should not be overlooked - this was pointed out to me by a friend recently.

Especially in the case of the AUB, which will no doubt produce many future movers and shakers in Lebanese and regional politics, it is a phenomenon well worth paying attention to.