Conflicted Identities: Negotiating Belonging among Young People from the Lebanese Diasporas in Montreal

Abstract

To elucidate the reproduction of antagonist relationships between diasporic populations, conflict transportation theories tend to focus on societal and transnational contexts. This approach often neglects the complexity of people’s lived experiences and risks essentializing diasporic identities. Based on ethnographic fieldwork among young people of the Lebanese diasporas in Montreal, this contribution reconsiders the interplay between diasporas and conflict by pondering the shifting nature of existence. It argues that everyday encounters and life trajectories play a critical role in how the diasporic youth relate to identity categories, inspiring them to continuously renegotiate and transform what being Lebanese means in their existence.