Internal quality assurance as substitute governance: institutional capacity and quality enhancement in Lebanese higher education

Lebanon lacks a national quality assurance agency for its higher education system, resulting in fragmented, poorly coordinated quality governance. Consequently, private universities have developed internal quality assurance systems to maintain credibility and accountability amid economic and political instability. This article examines how internal quality assurance operates in such governance and how it shapes teaching, learning and institutional practices. Based on twenty interviews and institutional document analysis from two Lebanese universities, this article examines whether internal quality assurance promotes genuine improvement or merely substitutes for absent external regulation. The analysis focuses on leadership commitment and stakeholder engagement as mediating factors in the implementation of quality. Without national coordination, internal quality assurance risks reinforcing inequalities and encouraging bureaucratic compliance rather than meaningful change. The Lebanese case highlights both the adaptability and weakness of quality assurance in weak-governance contexts, where fragmented systems hinder sector-wide coherence and accountability.