What is neutrality in a sectarianized context? : How the Lebanese Red Cross navigates sectarianism by claiming neutrality

Sammanfattning: In October 2019, massive protests formed all over Lebanon, calling for an end tosectarianism. Sectarianism is a process which operates multidimensionally, politicizingreligious beliefs to create collective identities. I argue for an understanding of sectarianidentity much like an ethnic or national identity, drawing on the works of Fredrik Barth andBenedict Anderson. This system has created a sectarian incentive for the Lebanese, to act andmobilize as sectarian subjects.The Lebanese Red Cross is a member of the International Red Cross and Red CrescentMovement. The Neutrality Principle is utilized as a means to gain confidence, and therebyaccess, across all sects in Lebanon. The Lebanese Red Cross’ rigourous employment of theNeutrality Principle throughout times of war and turbulence, has rewarded them with areputation as a particularly successful National Society. Moreover, they are the onlyhumanitarian actor with national reach in Lebanon.The thesis builds on functional idea analysis and multimodal discourse analysis which hasbeen applied on inter alia anthropological monographs conducted in Lebanon, projectsinitiated by the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, as well as contentretrieved from the Lebanese Red Cross’ social media platforms.I examine the strategies employed by the Lebanese Red Cross to analyze how neutrality isconstructed in a sectarianized context. Further, I analyze how the anti-sectarianism of theOctober protests shaped the Lebanese Red Cross’ neutral stance. In sum, I find that themembers of the Lebanese Red Cross create a collective identity in the very same way as asectarian, ethnic or national identity is constructed. Through the process of differentiating, theLebanese Red Cross creates space outside the sectarian structure, where they, benefittingfrom the appreciation and recognition of their work as valuable, are allowed to be neutral.