Friend or foe – A qualitative field study on intergroup relations among Palestinian refugees in Lebanon

Abstract: As the world becomes more global so does the conflicts and refugee movements. Whilst many have studied the tensions between the communities of host nations and refugee groups this thesis aims to explore what type of tension and conflict that occurs when one refugee group hosts another. In order to do so this thesis seeks to answer in what way, if any, the arrival of the Palestinian Refugees from Syria has affected the relationship among Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon. The study is conducted as a qualitative minor field study in Lebanon and semi-structured interviews has been used as the main source of information. The result is analysed according to a theoretical framework, the intergroup threat theory, which aims to single out important antecedents of threats and why symbolic and realistic threats occur between groups. The thesis finds that discrimination and tension exist between the groups and that the main reason behind it is due to provocative cross-cutting identities among the Syrian Palestinians and the economic difficulties the Syrian Crisis has brought along.