RLS@Beirut

Rosa Luxemburg Beirut office

RLS has been working in Lebanon since 2017. The Beirut office currently works within Lebanon and Iraq as its main countries of cooperation, in close coordination with local partner institutions, groups, and individuals. RLS also cooperates with Syrian communities in exile and analyzes developments in Iran. The office’s programs focus on Migration and Forced Migration, Conflict and Post Conflict, Political Economy and Social Rights, Food Sovereignty and Feminist politics.

Who is Rosa Luxemburg?

Rosa Luxemburg was arguably one of the most iconic figures of the German and international workers' movement of the last centuries. She still inspires us today with her steadfastness for peace, her eloquent critical intellect, and her lifelong commitment to democratic socialism from below.Rosa Luxemburg was arguably one of the most iconic figures of the German and international workers' movement of the last centuries. She still inspires us today with her steadfastness for peace, her eloquent critical intellect, and her lifelong commitment to democratic socialism from below.

Programs

Program

Conflict and post conflict

The Beirut office of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation works, among others, on the countries of Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen. Wars, conflicts and violence have affected all of these countries for decades and continue to do so today. In our program we deal with different forms of structural violence and resistance against it. How do post-civil war countries deal with their past and what can we deduce from this for the current situation? What forms of social resistance and socio-cultural engagement can there be in the midst of wars, how can we support them? These are some of the questions we are addressing in our program.

Program

Migration and Forced Migration

Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq have been countries with diverse migration movements for decades. One of our thematic programs is therefore a broad engagement with the topic of migration. We mainly focus on the access of migrants, refugees, and stateless people to social and human rights, as well as the challenges faced by these groups due to their denial of these rights. We also look at the self-organization of migrants and refugees in Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq and support different forms of grass root activism.

Program

Political Economy and Food Sovereignty

With our program, we aim to break down the complex economic and political relations that have caused the economic collapse in our countries while also discussing just policies and alternative economies. A main area of relevance is supporting measures of food sovereignty, to promote social justice and a fairer distribution of wealth and resources.

Program

Intersectional Feminisim

Feminist and queer movements in Lebanon & the larger SWANA region have historically been one of the main drivers towards social change and intersectional equality. The lives behind these movements have committed themselves to addressing and politicizing so-called “social” issues including domestic violence, women’s right to pass on nationality, and queer rights in the face of discriminatory civil laws and policies governing the existence of women and marginalized identities by the Lebanese sectarian system. Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung aims to support grassroots and community-led alternative groups, collectives and initiatives that work towards an intersectional and inclusive reorganization of society.

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Publications

On Tuesday, May 13th, 2025, U.S. President Trump announced lifting longstanding sanctions during an investment forum in Riyadh. Triggered by regional diplomacy and strategic financial support from Gulf states,

Lebanon’s municipal elections, which have been underway for the first time since 2016, have come at a moment of deep national crisis. The country still faces massive economic instability, enormous political challenges, and social fragmentation.

Breaking the fast: around 400 people dine among the remains of their homes, which were destroyed in Israeli airstrikes during Ramadan. (Kfar Shouba, Lebanon, 17.3.2025)

But in recent months, after years of gridlock, a ceasefire agreement with Israel in late November and the election of a new president and prime minister have given Lebanon’s war-weary society some cause for hope. This small multi-confessional country now finds itself on the brink — but of political failure or renewal?

Far-right activists confront riot police while attempting to march near Ostkreuz railway station in Berlin on March 22, 2025. The event, attended by several hundred far-right and neo-Nazi activists from across Germany, was organized by extremist Ferhat Sentürk, a former politician from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in Aachen.

“I felt like I went back to Point Zero,” Sara said, reflecting on the moment when the results of the German elections were announced on February 24, 2025. The conservative center and the far- right wing parties came out as the winner of the elections.

It was exactly 50 years ago when the Lebanese civil war started on 13 April 1975. The multi-faceted conflict had many political, religious and social root causes and lasted 15 years. The post-war period was marked by a return to relative normalcy, paired with recurring cycles of violence.

Announcement Of The First Government Under President Ahmad Al-Sharaa

Over the past decades, Syria has exemplified a model of authoritarian rule characterized by
centralized decision-making, monopolization of power, and the exclusion of political and
societal actors from the public sphere.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian receive Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani

Following the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979 under Ayatollah Khomeini, the doctrine of exporting the revolution became institutionalized within Iran’s political system, posing a strategic threat to Iraq, which shares approximately 1,400 km of borders with Iran.....

Die Linke celebrates its victory on election night: co-chairs Ines Schwerdtner and Jan van Aken with lead candidate Heidi Reichinnek (centre).

This article reflects on the recent German federal elections held on February 23, 2025. Die Linke, the
left-wing party, made a remarkable recovery, securing 8.7% of the vote; an impressive achievement
considering it had previously been in decline. In just a few short months, the party revitalized itself,
demonstrating a strategic shift and a united front that reshaped its political fortunes.

Syria Conflict Security Graduation Graduates of Syria s General Security forces under the country s new administration attend a ceremony in the northern city of Aleppo on February 12, 2025. Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa said in an interview released on February 10, that thousands of people were joining the country s new army following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad and the dissolution of his military. Since the fall of longtime ruler Assad in December, Syria s authorities have dissolved the for

A close look at HTS’s trajectory reveals a strong sense of pragmatism and adaptability, fueled
by its leadership’s drive for survival and hunger for power. These defining traits have allowed
the group to overcome multiple challenges, ensured its survival, aneventually assumed power
over Syria today - a position it appears to maintain to this day.

September 11, 2021 - Erbil, Iraq. Iraqi Kurdistan Region

Selling Fuel In The Streets Of Damascus Fuel vendors from Lebanon are increasingly appearing on the streets of Damascus, attracted by the lower price of Lebanese fuel compared to Syrian fuel.

Everyone today is faced with new choices.
Some want administrative; others want political decentralization, and others want a federal system. Some want a civil state, others a central Sunni state with Sharia law as the main basis. In order to get out of the bottleneck situation, we need the caretaker government to call in the national conference with all political players, and the self-administration is part of this. All Syrian factions need to be represented.

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