Social Issues
Aug 05, 2025
The Fragmented Future: Lebanon’s Lost Generation Amid Crisis and Migration
Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP
In this report, Christelle Barakat examines Lebanon’s escalating emigration crisis, driven by severe economic collapse, political paralysis, and widespread erosion of public trust and basic rights. Drawing on desk research, interviews and a national survey, the report highlights how financial hardship, security concerns, and lack of reforms have pushed many—especially youth—to turn to migration. Barakat concludes that without urgent reforms to restore governance and social protections, Lebanon risks losing an entire generation.
Christelle Barakat
is a researcher at the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies. She is a recent Lebanese Fulbright Foreign Student program graduate from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, holding an MA in Peace and Conflict Studies with a concentration on International Peace Development. She completed her BA in Political Science and International Affairs with high distinction from the Lebanese American University. Her areas of interest include conflict analysis and resolution, disarmament, globalization, migration and refugee studies, and women and gender studies.
Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFPIn this report, Christelle Barakat examines Lebanon’s escalating emigration crisis, driven by severe economic collapse, political paralysis, and widespread erosion of public trust and basic rights. Drawing on desk research, interviews and a national survey, the report highlights how financial hardship, security concerns, and lack of reforms have pushed many—especially youth—to turn to migration. Barakat concludes that without urgent reforms to restore governance and social protections, Lebanon risks losing an entire generation.