الجامعة بوصفها فاعلية اقتصادية : استراتيجيات الجامعة اللبنانية الدولية liu في زمن الانهيار اللبناني
The Lebanese International University (LIU) has emerged as an influential economic actor in Lebanon’s higher education sector amid the deep economic collapse that began in 2019. Unlike many traditional academic institutions, the university managed to turn the crisis to its advantage by adopting flexible strategies rooted in neoliberal principles, most notably geographic expansion and low tuition fees supported by a charitable and social discourse directed toward underprivileged groups. The study notes that LIU benefited from the state’s withdrawal from supporting the public Lebanese University, which opened the door for it to attract large segments of students who were unable to access public education—either due to restrictive admission requirements or the absence of political backing. The university adopted the slogan “Education for All,” allowing it to expand into peripheral and marginalized areas, both socially and geographically, by opening branches across Lebanon. The research shows that LIU follows a pragmatic logic in its local and international expansion, based on a keen understanding of market needs. The university has established external branches in several Arab and African countries under charitable banners, yet in practice, these serve profit-oriented purposes and aim to access new educational markets. At the same time, the university has developed strategic academic departments, such as the Faculty of Pharmacy, which has become a distinctive hallmark of the institution in terms of academic reputation and financial returns. The university has also invested in recruiting highly qualified professors with ideological orientations aligned with its social discourse, helping to establish strong and attractive academic departments. LIU’s policy of low tuition fees and generous scholarships makes it socially appealing, yet it also serves the political agendas of its owner, especially in electoral contexts. Moreover, these policies contribute to suppressing any form of critical student mobilization by banning the formation of student councils under the pretext of maintaining political neutrality on campus. In conclusion, the study argues that LIU represents a model of the neoliberal university, one that blends market logic, political interests, and social discourse to establish a new form of hegemony in higher education, thereby reproducing political clientelism within an ostensibly neutral academic framework. (Published abstract)