Resources

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.

Marie-Joëlle Zahar challenges prevailing perceptions of the Lebanese as powerless victims of their external environment. She suggests that the roots of Lebanon’s vulnerability are internal and emanate from state weakness, as suspicion among Lebanese communities and endemic distrust of Beirut to uphold citizens’ interests encourages Lebanese leaders to actively seek protection from abroad.

In their conclusion, Accord 24 co-editors Elizabeth Picard and Alexander Ramsbotham outline the progress needed to achieve durable peace in Lebanon. These include the need to tackle state-sponsored amnesia and sectarian narratives of the past; to meaningfully rebuild the social contract between state and society; to reinforce Lebanon's internal resilience in the face on external threats and intervention.