Dialogue

Militant Islam and jihad in Lebanon

Positive peace for Lebanon: reconciliation, reform and resilience
Jul 2012
Shia and Sunni militancy are increasing sources of tension in Lebanon. Bernard Rougier reflects on their evolution, domestic constituencies, regional ties and international drivers and catalysts. Meanwhile developments in Syria also exacerbate friction. More accurate and deeper analysis of the intricacies of these relationships would help to clarify distinctions between social ties, identity values and interests of political entrepreneurs. Combined with the development of communication between the relevant leaders in Lebanon, this could facilitate better understanding as a basis for peacebuilding.

Consensus democracy and representation in Lebanon

Positive peace for Lebanon: reconciliation, reform and resilience
Jul 2012
Lebanon’s convoluted consociational political system is associated with many of the country’s political problems. Ziad Majed unpacks its intricacies and impediments, explaining how its apparent intent to guarantee participation in state institutions through consensus and inclusion has in fact obstructed reform, empowering elites that are resistant to change.

Box 5 - Priorities for peace in Lebanon: opposing outlooks from 8 & 14 March Alliances

Positive peace for Lebanon: reconciliation, reform and resilience
Jul 2012
Interviews with Ali Fayyad (8 March Alliance/Hezbollah MP) and Samir Frangieh (member of the General Secretariat of 14 March Alliance and a former MP) present ‘opposing outlooks’ from Lebanon’s two main political blocs. They discuss: internal and external sources of tension; implications of Taif for contemporary political stability; developing the social contract in Lebanon; and priorities for the future.

The Taif Agreement

Positive peace for Lebanon: reconciliation, reform and resilience
Jul 2012
Karam Karam explains how both the content and implementation of the 1989 Taif peace agreement have precluded genuine political reform or social change, due to structural defects including: flawed revision of confessional power sharing arrangements and a dysfunctional executive Troika; surrendering core state responsibilities to Syrian tutelage; guaranteeing power to warlords; and the marginalisation of key social issues. Karam suggests constructive lessons for the future, based on a framework of political decentralisation and balanced reform ‘packages’ as part of a clear, incremental strategy.

Building bridges through interfaith dialogue: a conversation with Mohammad Sammak

Positive peace for Lebanon: reconciliation, reform and resilience
Jul 2012
Religion is central to Lebanese politics and society. Mohammad Sammak reviews priorities and processes of interfaith dialogue to promote tolerance and reconciliation. He describes challenges related to the conflation of religion and politics, as well as the contribution of faith to peacebuilding, including the extent of its social reach: down to grassroots; out to peripheries; up to political elites; and across sectarian divides.

Civil mobilisation and peace in Lebanon

Positive peace for Lebanon: reconciliation, reform and resilience
Jul 2012
Civil mobilisation has had a mixed record as an agent for political change in Lebanon. Marie-Noëlle AbiYaghi reviews the history and impact of Lebanese civil activism from before the war until the present day. She focuses in particular on anti-sectarian demonstrations in Beirut in 2011, which not only exposed growing popular appetite for de-confessionalised politics, but also reinforced civil society’s susceptibility to political interests and interference.

Box 2 - War, peace and history in Lebanon: a conversation with Ahmad Beydoun

Positive peace for Lebanon: reconciliation, reform and resilience
Jul 2012
In conversation with Accord, Ahmad Beydoun describes how the teaching of history is sectarian for many Lebanese. He stresses the importance of narrative diversity in recollecting experiences of the war, and the potential of a coordinated national educational curriculum to help accommodate and acknowledge different views as a means to improve understanding of the ‘other’.

Box 1 - Documenting memories of war: UMAM and The Hangar

Positive peace for Lebanon: reconciliation, reform and resilience
Jul 2012
Liliane Kfoury illustrates Lebanese civil initiatives for memorialisation by describing the Association for Documentation and Research (UMAM D & R), which gathers wartime testimonies of combatants, politicians, civilians, the displaced and relatives of missing people, in order to help preserve collective memory of the war.

Dealing with Lebanon's past: remembering, reconciliation, art and activism

Positive peace for Lebanon: reconciliation, reform and resilience
Jul 2012
Sune Haugbølle reviews Lebanese efforts to pursue reconciliation and deal with the past. He explores issues of memory and remembering: Lebanon’s ‘state-sponsored amnesia’ over the war years; and the role of culture and of civil society in documenting and discussing them. Haugbolle considers options to integrate civil and national reconciliation initiatives and to involve political elites, as well as the potential of rural and traditional conflict resolution structures to engage grassroots in national reconciliation processes.

Looking back to move forward in Lebanon

Lebanon’s model of post-war power sharing and liberal economic growth has been widely praised, but it has failed to deliver for most people. More than 20 years on from the Taif agreement that ended the civil war, Lebanon is not a post-conflict society. Our new Accord analysis – which comes as insecurity in Syria poses a renewed threat to Lebanon’s precarious stability – examines options for developing a more positive peace. An accompanying policy brief sets out priorities for change.

Pages

© Conciliation Resources 173 Upper Street, London N1 1RG, UK 
Tel: +44 (0)20 7359 7728  Fax: +44(0)20 7359 4081  Email: cr@c-r.org
Terms and conditions Charity registered in England and Wales (1055436)
Company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (03196482)