Lebanon is one of the most researched countries in the Middle East. Scholars have published hundreds of studies in recent decades on its unique consociational political system, historical evolution, media, and social dynamics. Yet its second largest city, Tripoli, escaped scholarly attention despite its crucial historical and sociopolitical importance.

Numerous journalistic pieces and policy papers depict the city as the hotbed of Islamic radicalism. One Lebanese journalist even called it Lebanon’s Kandahar in reference to the previous headquarters of the Taliban in Afghanistan. Most of the academic studies that touch the recent history and contemporary developments of the city also examine Sunni Islamic movements and jihadi violence in Northern Lebanon.

The heavy focus on this aspect of the city’s complex dynamics perhaps provides a somewhat one-sided picture. Tine Gade’s comprehensive analysis of the political and social dynamics of Tripoli, therefore, fills an extremely important lacuna. She points out that while...

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