Greater Lebanon Research Articles

Sidon against Beirut: Space, Control, and the Limits of Sectarianism within the Jewish Community of Modern Lebanon

AbstractWhen the State of Greater Lebanon was established in 1920, the Jewish Community Council of Beirut was officially recognized as the central administrative body within Lebanon, and although smaller communities such as Sidon and Tripoli also had their own councils they were consequently made subject to the authority of Beirut. In this context of political overhaul, I argue that some Jewish actors made use “from below” of political opportunities provided by sectarianism “from above”—or national sectarianism—to garner control over all Jewish political structures in Lebanon. But by examining in particular activities in and around the Israelite Community Council in Sidon (al-Majlis al-Milli al-Isra'ili bi-Sayda), I show how and why these attempts to practice new forms of sectarianism were met with resistance, despite connections that tied Lebanon's Jews together administratively in one community.

Do Pequeno ao Grande Líbano: os desafios contemporâneos da República Libanesa

Com os últimos eventos que ocorreram no Líbano, a partir de outubro de 2019, várias questões acerca da governabilidade do país são levantadas. Marcado por uma história de múltiplos conflitos internos, e de intervenções externas, a República Libanesa é o resultado de decisões pretéritas que foram fundamentais na determinação dos seus dilemas atuais. Este artigo apresenta um histórico da criação do Líbano, desde a formação do Emirado do Monte Líbano, passando pelo mandato francês, até a criação do "Grande Líbano". Sua sociedade multi-confessional, e as transformações ocorridas durante o mandato francês, acarretaram implicações profundas para a política e socieade libanesa. Ao final, discute-se os protestos que ocorrem no país desde o ano de 2019, e o futuro do sistema político sectário que persiste desde o Pacto Nacional de 1943.

Religion, national identity, and confessional politics in Lebanon: the challenge of Islamism

Greater Lebanon and the National Pact: The Elusiveness of National Identity The Confessional System Between Lebanonism and Pan-Arabism Al-Jama'a al-Islamiyah and Fathi Yakan: The Pioneer of Sunni Islamic Activism in Lebanon The Reassertion of Sectarianism and the Rise of Islamism The Islamists and the Political System: Al-Infitah and Lebanonization The Praxis of Islamism and Syrian Suzerainty The Takeover of Beirut: The Struggle for the State The Future of Islamism in Lebanon

Triumph or compromise: The decline of political Maronitism in Lebanon after the civil war

The Maronite Community had played a dominant role in the Lebanese political system at least from the late eighteenth century. However, from 1943, the Maronites had to compromise on a power‐sharing formukla with the Muslim community in view of the addition of Muslim areas to Greater Lebanon since 1920. Since the National Pact formula was undermined by internal and external factors, from the late 1960s, the Maronites attempted to rectify the formula by engaging in the Civil War of 1975–90. Since then political Maronitism has been in decline, mainly due to internal divisions, the modification of the National Pact Formula through the Al‐Taif Agreement in favour of Muslims and the growing Syrian influence. Though the decline of political Maronitism will result in an unhappy sectarian imbalance for the Christian community and lead to further Lebanese entanglement in Arab affairs, it could free the hands of Lebanese decision‐makers in handling Lebanon's relations with the Arab and Middle Eastern countries, especially Syria, more successfully.

A false Dilemma? Syria and Lebanon's independence during the mandatory period

such argument was that Syrian acceptance of Lebanon's independence and subsequent accession to the Arab League had depended on an agreement between the two countries, containing Lebanese undertakings to Syria in the fields of foreign and defence policy. This agreement, it was argued, was sanctioned by the other members of the Arab League.2 In fact, this argument developed into a major comerstone in the policy of successive Syrian regimes vis-a-vis Lebanon, particularly during times of crisis in Lebanon and external challenges to Syria's special position in this country.3 This argument sheds light on the vexed question of the granting of independence to Lebanon, in the Second World War, and Syrian grappling with it. This question is one whose origins are traced back to the days following the break-up of the Ottoman Empire and the subsequent creation of states in territories which have long been interrelated socially, economically, intellectually and politically. Many Syrian nationalists refused to recognize the separation of Lebanon from Syria since the establishment of 'Greater Lebanon' by the French in 1920. The new state, in its entirely, was perceived by those Syrian nationalists as the 'Westem part' of 'Greater Syria'. During the short spell of Faisal's reign in Damascus (1918-20), they considered Lebanon an integral part of his kingdom.4 During most of the Mandatory period, the Lebanese question was a major stumbling block on the road to a Franco-Syrian agreement designed to terminate the Mandate. However, this state of affairs changed in the mid-1930s. Developments during the Second World War accelerated the pace of this change, brought it to a head, and finally forced the Syrians to grudgingly accept Lebanon's independence. This article argues that this acceptance reflected the effect of the interplay of three major factors: the state of local politics in the Levant, especially the development of nationalist movements in Syria and Lebanon and their bilateral relationship; the adversarial relationship between Great Britain and France, the two key external powers concerned with the Levant, and their

The Definition of a Style of Imperialism: The Internal Politics of the French Educational Investment in Ottoman Beirut

During the latter part of the nineteenth century France established a substantial educational presence in Beirut and, through that burgeoning town, in other parts of Syria, particularly in Mt. Lebanon.1 The French emphasis on education was a product of an alliance of the Catholic missionary enterprise with French diplomacy and subsidies, and it was an important element in French imperial expansion into the Ottoman Empire. The investment in education was part of loosely organized political and economic activism that ultimately became the basis for the mandates over Syria and Greater Lebanon after the First World War.2 An analysis of this particular style of imperialism must investigate the tensions inherent in the alliance of French diplomacy with Catholic missionary enterprise. Finally, the quality of the French presence was determined by the interaction of diplomatic expediency, academic excellence, clerical devotion, and social evolution. The foremost asset which the Catholic missions contributed to