This paper seeks to understand the feasibility of genuine democratization within Lebanon as a result of youth political activism. It begins with the 2015 protest movement which erupted as a result of the "Rubbish Crisis," and the inability of municipal authorities to deal with refuse. This group typifies a multiplicity of separate pressure groups aimed at creating democratic change within Lebanon. The impact of these volunteer-based groups is constrained by the sectarian structures and patronage networks which underlie the Lebanese political order. The heterogeneity of such voluntary groups has not translated beyond immediate concerns; the people and activists who make up these groups are not in agreement on the deeper, longer-term factors behind Lebanon's repeated crises, failing to provide a democratic alternative to Lebanon's status quo.