Moral Farming of Immoral Tobacco

The Shia Community, The Tobacco Market, and the Future of Lebanon
Erscheinungsjahr 2025
ISBN: 978-3-031-97422-9
Verlag: Springer

Buch, Englisch, 489 Seiten, Format (B × H): 153 mm x 216 mm, Gewicht: 771 g

Reihe: Middle East Today

"Moral Farming of Immoral Tobacco: The Shia Community, the Tobacco Market, and the Future of Lebanon" explores the ethical and operational complexities of managing a controversial industry in a fragile, divided state neighboring war-torn Syria. It argues that in weak states with porous borders and a thriving underground economy, state monopolies on harmful products provide a more responsible alternative to unregulated markets.

The book offers a comprehensive analysis of tobacco's historical, cultural, and political significance in Lebanon, with a focus on its deep-rooted ties to the Shia community. It explores how tobacco shaped Lebanon's political landscape and, in turn, how the country's politics influenced the tobacco sector. The narrative highlights tobacco's integration into Shia identity and examines the interplay between political Shi’ism, the state-owned tobacco monopoly (RLTT), and post-civil war power-sharing arrangements, illustrating how tobacco evolved into both a symbol of resistance and a mechanism for societal stabilization. The RLTT’s strategic responses to regional challenges, including the Syrian crisis and a growing black market, highlight its role in stabilizing Lebanon’s economy amidst state decline.

By linking ethnography, market dynamics, and the failures of anti-tobacco campaigns, the narrative offers a unique lens to understand the complexities of Lebanon's tobacco market within its socio-political framework. This analysis equips readers with theoretical and institutional tools to critically assess the broader implications for Lebanon’s future.

Zielgruppe

Research

Autoren/Hrsg.

Abboud, Mazen

Fachgebiete

• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Wirtschaftssektoren & Branchen Primärer Sektor
• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Volkswirtschaftslehre Volkswirtschaftslehre Allgemein
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Internationale Beziehungen
• Naturwissenschaften Agrarwissenschaften Agrarwissenschaften
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politikwissenschaft Allgemein
• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Volkswirtschaftslehre Wirtschaftspolitik, politische Ökonomie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Chapter 1: Tobacco, Identity, and Power: A Historical and Political Exploration.- Chapter 2: Institutions, Politics, Market Failures and the Tobacco Economy: The Intersection of Legal and Illegal Markets.- Chapter 3: Flourish or Perish: Managing a State-Owned Tobacco Monopoly in Times of Crisis.- Chapter 4: Redefining Institutions and Identities: Strategies for Stability, Growth, and Regional Prosperity.

Über Autor(innen)

Mazen Abboud , Ph.D. in Economics, is a columnist for  newspaper, a social activist, a board member of the Régie Libanaise des Tabacs et Tombacs, and an assistant professor at the Lebanese American University in Beirut.