Lecture on lebanon to a VCU class in Richmond

Lebanon Lecture Outine
VCU Campus, Richmond, March 24, 03


Political profile of Lebanon:

- Emerging from civil war with political amnesia, poor memory of what happened in crisis of fifteen years of communal fighting.

- Reconciliation is social and existential, but not spiritual or moral
- Lebanon has become just another Arab country with less trust in its future and silenced by political quietism.

- Political leadership contrasts with technological endowment

- Lebanon is dependent too much on resolution of major issues in region:
Rule of law, Palestinian problem, and regional impotence in political leadership. We need new Lebanese leaders like Gibran, Ralph Nader and Antoun Saadeh.

Lebanon short history: a politically grafted country like Kuwait, Jordan, Libya and Israel: a product of modern historical events. Lebanon was part of Syria during four centuries until 1920. Rational for Lebanon is “home for Christians”; rationale for Israel is “home for the Jews”. But demography, secularism, human rights and nation state ideology make the “faith-based nation” a contradiction.

Lebanon Unique: Lebanon is a unique country in the Arab world: Mediator for Arab/Western relations and a laboratory for social change:

a. Parliamentary life: some participatory voting

b. Civic society: political parties active but poorly organized, private non profit organizations thriving

c. Liberation politics: Arab secular nationalism and Palestinian national resistance live side by side with sectarian politics

d. Sectarian Power sharing of communities is an experiment in diversity but with a fault line:
- Christian President and Muslim Prime minister
- 50% Muslim and 50% Christian parliament
- Distribution of seats according to demography
- Chief of army Christian

The cantonal system or the federal formula in power sharing works well in countries where there is economic prosperity, high level of education, some form of socialism and a stable demography. Lebanon balance of power among sectarian communities is vulnerable to 1. Demographic shifts, 2. Manipulative hands of religious leaders and 3. Economic crises of minorities which become excuse for destabilizing the system.

Rapid social change within a context of contradiction:
- Lebanon is a country of banks, bikinis and baggy pants and of veils and short skirts. In one part of the country you can imagine yourself being in southern France and in another it feels like any overcrowded urban low resource environment.
- Lebanon has over thirty universities for a population of five millions: e.g. AUB and Saint Joseph University. Education of children is sacred for the parents of Lebanon. Illiteracy is are.

- Lebanon has a vibrant seven-million Diaspora community which includes many people in power or with economic resources: e.g. current US Secretary of Energy, Abrahams, Ralph Nader, former HHS Secretary Dona Shalala, the Swiss Swatch company owner, the actress Selma Hayek and three recent former ex presidents of Ecuador, Columbia and Argentina and former Mayor of Saw Paulo. Richmond for example, has several thousand Lebanese who go to the St Anthony Catholic church and who are almost totally assimilated. One single street corner in Richmond (on Parham Rd), for example, has the largest pharmacy, the largest dentist office and a large law firm whose owners are Lebanese emigrants. Dearborn Michigan has sixty thousand Lebanese. These emigrants help their families in Lebanon but they resist investing in home land due to political uncertainty.

Service and financial capital of the Arab world:
- Tourism, banks, lawyers, doctors, engineers, teachers serve the Arab world
- The AUB has generated hundreds of thousand of leaders over the last one hundred fifty years
- Beirut College for Women same influence

Market economy without sufficient income redistributive measures.
-Tax evasion, government corruption and illegal income are major social problems.

- You can buy anything in Lebanon markets, easy transactions in real estate, air lines etc

Decorative army:
Army is large but inefficient. Has rarely been used to defend national interests, preserve unity under stress, protect border with Israel, or to challenge other forms of regional intervention.

Regional influence
Syria’s presence in Lebanon and Israel Occupation of a small piece of land; Presence of 300 000 Palestinian refugees. Loyalty to Iran and to Islamic fundamentalism remains a problem; but it has been politicized for resistance for national defense.

Reconstruction and tourism after 1990:
- Beirut and other cities and villages have been rebuilt in ten years.
Sandy Beaches and night clubs and fancy restaurants attract regional tourists. Theater, art and cultural life are very active in Lebanon. The air port is at European standards, rebuilt with millions of borrowed money. The mountains of Lebanon have “green village” beauty which should draw millions of tourists from around the world. But now only Gulf oil rich visitors appreciate Lebanon, especially after 9/11 events. National debt has grown to thirty billion dollars, about 100 % of GNP. Social reconstruction is a disappointment.

Emigration of youth and minorities
- Youth leave for Europe, the US and all over the world
- Minorities like Armenians and European and US residents left in great numbers.

Future political prospects:

Lessons about power sharing, secularism and national unity building have not been learned or transmitted to new generation. The fate of Lebanon is tied to fate or region. The fate of the region is tied to fate of new world order. There is no new world order yet. The cold war world regime has been replaced by the superpower regime. If we are going to reform world order through war, history tells us, this is not the way. Social justice and rule of law go hand in hand.