🐪Contemporary Middle East Politics Unit 7 – Lebanon: Sectarianism and Civil War

Historical Background

• Lebanon gained independence from French colonial rule in 1943 establishing a unique political system based on power-sharing among its diverse religious communities
• The country's population consists of various religious sects including Maronite Christians, Sunni Muslims, Shia Muslims, and Druze among others
• Lebanon's strategic location on the Mediterranean coast historically made it a center for trade and cultural exchange between Europe and the Middle East
• The creation of Israel in 1948 and the influx of Palestinian refugees into Lebanon following the Arab-Israeli wars added to the country's complex demographic and political landscape
• In the decades leading up to the civil war, tensions between the different religious communities grew as the power-sharing system failed to adapt to changing demographics and political realities
• The Cairo Agreement of 1969 allowed Palestinian armed groups to operate in Lebanon further exacerbating tensions and drawing the country into regional conflicts

Key Concepts in Lebanese Politics

• Confessionalism refers to the political system in which power is distributed among religious communities based on their proportion of the population
• Zu'ama are traditional political leaders who often inherit their positions and maintain power through patronage networks and loyalty within their respective communities
• The National Pact of 1943 was an unwritten agreement that established the power-sharing formula among the main religious groups with the presidency reserved for Maronite Christians, the prime minister position for Sunni Muslims, and the speaker of parliament for Shia Muslims
• Consociationalism is a form of power-sharing democracy that aims to ensure the representation and participation of all major groups in the political process
• Sectarianism refers to the division of society along religious or ethnic lines and the prioritization of sect-based interests over national unity
• Political confessionalism in Lebanon has led to a weak central government and the entrenchment of sectarian identities in all aspects of life including education, marriage, and employment

Sectarian System and Power-Sharing

• Lebanon's political system is based on the principle of proportional representation among its 18 officially recognized religious sects
• The National Pact of 1943 allocated political positions and civil service jobs according to the demographic balance of the 1932 census which favored Christians
• The president is always a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of parliament a Shia Muslim
• Parliamentary seats are divided equally between Christians and Muslims and then further allocated among the various sects based on their demographic weight
• This rigid power-sharing formula has led to political paralysis and the inability to make decisions on critical issues without the consensus of all major groups
• The system has also perpetuated sectarian loyalties and hindered the development of a strong national identity and effective state institutions

Causes of the Civil War

• The influx of Palestinian refugees and the presence of armed Palestinian groups in Lebanon following the Arab-Israeli wars of 1948 and 1967 destabilized the country's delicate sectarian balance
• The Cairo Agreement of 1969 allowed Palestinian factions to operate militarily in Lebanon and use it as a base for attacks against Israel drawing Lebanon into the Arab-Israeli conflict
• The Lebanese government's inability to assert control over Palestinian camps and the growing militarization of Lebanese society contributed to the outbreak of violence
• Socio-economic inequalities and the concentration of wealth and power among the traditional elite fueled resentment and political discontent especially among the marginalized Shia community
• The regional Cold War rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union and the competing interests of Syria and Israel in Lebanon further complicated the situation and provided external support for different factions
• The breakdown of the state's monopoly on violence and the proliferation of sectarian militias loyal to different political leaders and foreign powers set the stage for a protracted civil war

Major Events and Phases of the Conflict

• The civil war began in April 1975 with clashes between Palestinian and Christian militias in Beirut and quickly spread throughout the country
• The initial phase of the war pitted leftist and Palestinian forces against right-wing Christian militias backed by Israel and Syria respectively
• In 1976, Syria intervened militarily to support the Christian-led government against the Palestinian-leftist alliance fearing the conflict would spill over into Syria
• The Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon in 1978 and the establishment of a security zone along the border added another dimension to the conflict
• The 1982 Israeli invasion aimed at expelling the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from Lebanon led to the siege of Beirut and the massacre of Palestinian civilians in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps by Christian militias
• The emergence of Hezbollah as a Shia militant group resisting the Israeli occupation and the continued presence of Syrian troops in Lebanon further complicated the conflict in the 1980s
• The war evolved into a complex web of shifting alliances and localized conflicts among the various sectarian militias vying for power and control over territory and resources

International Involvement

• The Lebanese Civil War became a proxy battleground for regional and international powers seeking to advance their interests in the Middle East
• Syria intervened militarily in 1976 to support the Christian-led government against the Palestinian-leftist alliance and maintained a significant military presence in Lebanon until 2005
• Israel invaded southern Lebanon in 1978 and 1982 to combat Palestinian guerrilla attacks and establish a security zone along the border which it occupied until 2000
• The United States, France, and Italy sent a multinational peacekeeping force to Beirut in 1982 following the Israeli invasion but withdrew after the bombing of their barracks in 1983
• Iran supported the formation of Hezbollah as a Shia militant group to resist the Israeli occupation and project Iranian influence in Lebanon and the region
• The Arab League and the United Nations made various attempts to mediate the conflict and broker ceasefires but were unable to achieve a lasting political settlement
• The end of the Cold War and the changing geopolitical landscape in the late 1980s created new opportunities for a negotiated settlement to the conflict

Peace Process and Taif Agreement

• The Taif Agreement, negotiated in Saudi Arabia in 1989, provided the framework for ending the civil war and reforming Lebanon's political system
• The agreement called for the disarmament of all militias, the restoration of state sovereignty, and the rebalancing of political power among the main religious communities
• It transferred some of the presidential powers to the cabinet and parliament and increased the number of Muslim deputies in parliament to achieve parity with Christians
• The agreement also called for the gradual withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon and the establishment of a special relationship between the two countries
• The Taif Agreement was ratified by the Lebanese parliament in 1990 and implemented with the support of the international community
• While the agreement ended the civil war and restored a measure of stability to Lebanon, it did not address the underlying causes of the conflict or resolve the issue of Hezbollah's weapons

Post-War Challenges and Reconstruction

• The end of the civil war left Lebanon with a devastated infrastructure, a shattered economy, and a deeply divided society
• The process of reconstruction and reconciliation was hindered by the continued presence of Syrian troops, the influence of Hezbollah, and the weakness of state institutions
• The assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005 and the subsequent Cedar Revolution led to the withdrawal of Syrian troops and a brief period of political reform
• However, the country remained polarized between the Western-backed March 14 alliance and the Iranian-backed March 8 alliance led by Hezbollah
• The 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah and the 2007 conflict between the Lebanese army and Islamist militants in the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp highlighted the fragility of Lebanon's post-war stability
• Political deadlock and the inability to form a government have hampered efforts to address Lebanon's economic crisis, high public debt, and inadequate public services
• The influx of over 1 million Syrian refugees since 2011 has strained Lebanon's resources and infrastructure and exacerbated social tensions
• Despite these challenges, Lebanon has made progress in rebuilding its physical infrastructure and maintaining a fragile peace among its diverse communities