Citizens’ perceptions of security institutions in Lebanon

This paper focuses on the outcomes of a nationwide survey on the Lebanese public’s perceptions of their security institutions.

These findings were part of a survey conducted by International Alert and the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies about the perceptions of security threats and the institutions providing security.

This paper analyses how citizens perceive the role and performance of state and non-state security institutions. It provides insights into the main perceived causes of citizen dissatisfaction in some security institutions. The paper concludes that the power-sharing sectarian system is one factor behind the rise in non-state security institutions and the weakening of formal state security institutions.

This paper is one of six papers exploring the Lebanese public’s perceptions of their security institutions. You can view the other related papers here:
Citizens’ perceptions of security threats stemming from the Syrian refugee presence in Lebanon
Civil society’s role in security sector reform in Lebanon: An asymmetric partnership despite a growing working relationship with security services
Gender, security and SSR in Lebanon
Perceptions and prescriptions: How Lebanese people view their security
Security threat perceptions in Lebanon