Lebanon

Zara Lal reviews Rutgers University Professor Maya Mikdashi’s new book: Sextarianism: Sovereignty, Secularism, and the State in Lebanon

Senior Fellow at HKS Belfer Center’s MEI, Ambassador Djerejian sat down with JMEPP editors Nick Vargish and Christian Allard on February 23, 2023 to discuss pressing issues in the Arab World and the prospects for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

H.D. Wright provides an analysis of the European diplomatic engagements that pulled apart existing territories and forced them between the borders of new states, sealing a nearly inevitable destiny of domestic strife.

Jordan Cope, Esq. explores how the role of law and policy has been used in three countries—Lebanon, Jordan, and Israel, respectively—to both accelerate and to frustrate Palestinian integration. In doing so, the essay also explores the necessary history to contextualize the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the status of the Palestinian diaspora.

Giorgio Cafiero analyzes the diplomatic row between four Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members and Lebanon and how it represents new challenges and severe complications for Beirut.

Facing the ashes of an economic model based on sectarianism and cronyism, Lebanon currently endures a perfect storm of overlapping financial, economic, and political crises. Since its inauguration on January 31, 2020, the technocratic government of Prime Minister Hassan Diab, aided by international advisors, elaborated an “economic rescue plan” to explore options for recovery. Leaked […]

“Why a Traditional Austerity Plan Would Exacerbate Lebanon’s Woes” is a piece from and first preview of JMEPP’s Spring 2020 Edition, Arab Uprisings: The Second Wave, written by our Managing Editor for Political Economy and Security, Mounir Mahmalat.   ABSTRACT Following the eruption of mass protests in autumn 2019, Lebanon’s economy sled into a deep financial and economic […]

This moment offers a rare opportunity for foreign powers to help break Lebanon’s historical cycles of violence and support demands for a shift to a more robust and representative democracy.

This week, European Union diplomats and Iranian representatives adopt a new mechanism to maintain trade as Iran works to comply with the nuclear deal in the face of US sanctions. Qatar’s Emir travels to Lebanon for a financial conference, pledging funds for the country’s economy and appearing to step into the Lebanese political arena. And in Tunis, Youssef Chahed leads Tahya Tounes, a party breaking from the ruling Nidaa Tounes over economic policy and political infighting.

By HALA AL-HARIRI “In this room, the honorable Bchara El Khoury, President of the Republic of Lebanon, was arrested from November 11 until November 22, 1943.” This is written on a plaque on the wall of The Rashaya Citadel, also known as the Citadel of Independence. Another plaque says the same for the honorable Prime Minister Riad […]

On this week’s episode of the Middle East Weekly, we discuss Sa’ad Hariri’s resignation from his post as Prime Minister of Lebanon; the earthquake that struck the Iran-Iraq border; and a coalition deal that allowed IS fighters to leave Raqqa.

What may have been a political strategy on the part of the Saudi regime may have cost them enormous amounts of political leverage in Lebanon.