Abstract
This article explores a phenomenon of local, voluntary security actors in Lebanon: the Qabaḍāyāt.
These strongmen were power brokers and agents of political mobilization within Lebanon’s sys-
tem of patronage and clientelism, connecting local populations with political elites and state
representatives. They constituted an important informal institution at the neighborhood level,
protecting the neighborhood against external threats, policing crime, settling disputes, and
preserving social order, traditions and morality. However, their local authority was based on
the use or threat of violence. The article positions the Qabaḍāyāt within the broader field of
research on voluntariness and voluntary engagement, focusing on their voluntary nature and
their ambivalent role as both protectors of the neighborhood and as violent actors who often
bypassed the rule of law. It traces their evolving role within Lebanon’s political system from its
independence in 1943 until their gradual disappearance during the civil war.