Since the start of Lebanon’s two-month long revolution Oct. 17, protesters have continually blocked the main road connecting East and West Beirut — known as the Ring Bridge. While that tactic has slowly started to fade, during times of frustration with the government, groups of protesters will sometimes head to the Ring Bridge, blocking the flow of traffic.
For many political scientists and historians, such as Makram Rabah, a lecturer at the American University in Beirut’s Department of History and Archaeology, Lebanon’s monthslong daily protests have come as a surprise because while Lebanon has had demonstrations in the past, the current one does not fit any of the previous molds.