Fierce and Accommodationist Divided Cities: Understanding Right-to-the-City Protests in Beirut and Manama

Divided cities have attracted mounting scholarly attention. Yet, while the focus has largely been on how divisions are constructed, we examine the potentiality of waves of non-sectarian protest movements as urban peacebuilding actors. Towards this, we draw on comparative research on protests in two divided cities in the MENA region, Beirut (Lebanon) and Manama (Bahrain). These two cities, we argue, represent contrasting forms of divided city, marked by different approaches to dealing with sectarian pluralism that ultimately entrench sectarianism and inequality. Protest movements thus represent right-to-the-city mobilisations oriented towards demands for inclusive urban living. These movements foster ‘insurgent citizenship, an articulation of urban belonging and citizenship that focusses on confronting and destabilising the entrenched regimes of citizen inequality. However, while these protests are important peacebuilding actors, we note the profound structural and agential forces that limit the movement’s goals.