Policy Notes August 2021
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Assessing Lebanon's Political Paralysis
MENU Policy Analysis / Congressional Testimony Assessing Lebanon’s Political Paralysis, Economic Crisis, and Challenges for U.S. Policy by David Schenker Jul 29, 2021 Also published in House Foreign Affairs Committee ABOUT THE AUTHORS David Schenker David Schenker is the Taube Senior Fellow at The Washington Institute and former Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs. Articles & Testimony A former assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs diagnoses the country's incapacitated institutions and prescribes remedies for its entrenched corruption and Iranian/Hezbollah domination. he following testimony was prepared for a hearing before the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the T Middle East, North Africa, and Global Counterterrorism. The contours of Lebanon’s slow-motion economic collapse are by now well known. In the aftermath of the fifteen- year civil war, Lebanon borrowed huge amounts of money to rebuild, accumulating a mountain of debt that was funded by borrowing from local banks brimming with expatriate remittances. Even as the debt approached an unsustainable level of 150 percent of GDP, new money continued to flow into Lebanon, lured by obscene interest rates, particularly on Lebanese lira deposits—an expensive but effective tactic intended to encourage confidence in the shaky currency. Some early warning signs of impending trouble emerged following the outbreak of the 2011 Syrian civil war, yet the Ponzi scheme endured. Over time, however, the war took a toll on Lebanon’s already troubled economy, as exports decreased, a million refugees arrived, foreign remittances slowed, Gulf state funding dried up (as the Iranian-backed Shia militia Hezbollah increasingly dominated the state), and new funding became unattainable. -
The Port and Paris
Lebanese diaspora in France The Port and Paris Report | By Jonathan Dagher | 03.05.2021 Another protest in front of the Lebanese Embassy in Paris, foll owing the murder of Lokman Slim in February Photograph: Jonathan Dagher The 2019 protest movement and the Beirut port explosion galvanised political activism in the Lebanese diaspora. But the deepening crisis in Lebanon also puts them in a bind. The three women enter the Lebanese consulate in Paris swiftly, with apparent determination. They are followed by a fourth protester who films them, but their face masks shield their identities. One of them gets held back by a consulate employee who seemingly recognised the group’s intention. The other heads straight for the entrance hall where a portrait of Lebanese President Michel Aoun hangs in a fram e. In just seconds, she picks it off the wall and slams it to the floor. The frame shatters. The employees try to kick them out, “please, we will get penalized,” they can be heard saying on camera. But it’s too late, the shattered portrait is captured on film. After the affront at the consulate on September 11, 2020, the video made the rounds on social media in Lebanon. Six months after the event, people in Lebanon still recall that move as a brave and much needed message of solidarity from abroad. For many, it gave voice to the public anger bubbling in Beirut over a lack of accountability for the port’s explosion. Messages of admiration flooded the comment threads, but other users were outraged, decrying the move as vandalism, or even a crime. -
Security Council Distr.: General 9 March 2021
United Nations S/2021/240 Security Council Distr.: General 9 March 2021 Original: English Implementation of Security Council resolution 1701 (2006) during the period from 21 October 2020 to 19 February 2021 Report of the Secretary-General I. Introduction 1. The present report provides a comprehensive assessment of the implementation of Security Council resolution 1701 (2006) since my previous report, dated 12 November 2020 (S/2020/1110), including on the provisions of resolution 2539 (2020). Against a backdrop of increasing hardship in Lebanon, the area of operations of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) remained generally stable. Outstanding obligations remain for both parties under resolution 1701 (2006). There was no progress towards a permanent ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel. II. Implementation of resolution 1701 (2006) A. Situation in the area of operations of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon 2. On 14 November, UNIFIL observed 12 illumination rounds fired from south of the Blue Line close to Abbasiyah (Sector East). All 12 rounds landed south of the Blue Line. In this connection, the Israel Defense Forces informed UNIFIL that they had apprehended an individual who had crossed south of the Blue Line close to Ghajar (Sector East). UNIFIL has launched an investigation into the incident. On 17 November, UNIFIL observed 17 illumination rounds fired from south of the Blue Line close to Abbasiyah; 11 of the rounds landed north of the Blue Line. On this occasion, the Israel Defense Forces informed UNIFIL that they had apprehended two Israeli citizens in the area, who allegedly were involved in drug smuggling. -
Research Notes
Number 21 — August 2014 RESEARCH NOTES THE WASHINGTON INSTITUTE FOR NEAR EAST POLICY MINDING THE HOME FRONT Hezbollah in Lebanon Mona Alami riggered by the March 2011 uprising against the egie’s online journal Sada, have addressed Hezbol- regime of Bashar al-Assad, the civil war in Syria lah’s involvement in Syria.1 However, this paper goes Thas been marked by the extensive military involve- beyond the emphasis of such reports—which often ment of Hezbollah, the Lebanon-based Shiite Mus- discuss the effects of Hezbollah’s war involvement on lim militant group and political party. Although con- the regional power balance and Lebanon’s economics sidered a terrorist organization by the United States, and security—by also probing the party’s relationship the “Party of God” is embraced by Lebanon’s Shiite with its Lebanese constituency. population as a resistance movement and represented Alongside the experts named in this report, some within the Lebanese government. Backed by Iran and forty Lebanese Shiites were interviewed, including Syria, Hezbollah has an extensive security apparatus fifteen from southern Lebanon, twelve from Beirut, and a wide-reaching social services network. Hez- ten from the largely Shiite Beqa Valley, and two Shi- bollah has always framed itself according to its resis- ite party members, in addition to security sources and tance against Israel and its commitment to moumana Hezbollah fighters. The interviews were conducted (securing immunity from Western influence) in the off the record due to security concerns. A request for Middle East, alongside Syria and Iran. In recent years, an interview with Hezbollah’s public relations arm especially since the end of the Pax Syriana—a period was declined. -
Private Discounts to Print
Dissent and Reform in the Arab World: Empowering Democrats A Report of the American Enterprise Institute Dissent and Reform in the Arab World Project Edited by Jeffrey Azarva, Danielle Pletka, and Michael Rubin The AEI Press Publisher for the American Enterprise Institute WASHINGTON, D.C. AEI Press Publisher for the American Enterprise Institute 1150 Seventeenth Street, N.W. Washington D.C., 20036 www.aei.org/books © 2008 by the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, Washington, D.C. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without permission in writing from the American Enterprise Institute except in the case of brief quotations embodied in news articles, critical articles, or reviews. The views expressed in the publications of the American Enterprise Institute are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the staff, advisory panels, officers, or trustees of AEI. Printed in the United States of America Contents INTRODUCTION, Jeffrey Azarva, Danielle Pletka, and Michael Rubin 1 PART I: ESSAYS BY PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS 9 1. BAHRAIN 11 Challenging Government Control of Media Omran Salman 11 2. EGYPT 19 Challenges to Democratization Ayat M. Abul-Futtouh 19 3. IRAQ 26 Pluralism—Its Wealth and Its Misery Haider Saeed 26 The Development of Shi’ite Islamic Political Theory Sama Hadad 32 4. JORDAN 41 Building a Political Will Jamil al-Nimri 41 The Challenge of Progress Emad Omar 51 5. LEBANON 59 Together: Equal but Different Jad al-Akhaoui 59 Hezbollah and the Problem of State Control Lokman Slim 63 A Country to Be Born Najat Sharafeddine 71 6. -
Beyond the Islamic State
Beyond the Islamic state A new perspective on Hizballah’s policies Kai E. Kverme ARA4590 Master’s Thesis in Arabic Language Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages UNIVERSITETET I OSLO November 2010 II © Kai. E. Kverme År 2010 Beyond the Islamic state: A new perspective on Hizballah’s policies Author: Kai E. Kverme http://www.duo.uio.no/ Printing: Reprosentralen, Universitetet i Oslo III Abstract Islamist movements have traditionally been analyzed on the basis of their goal of establishing an Islamic State. But how should these movements be understood when this seemingly fundamental goal is abandoned? The following is a study of the Lebanese Hizballah, where I pursue a hypothesis that the aim of this party is to get a hegemony over Shiite Lebanon. By studying different components of the Shiite Lebanese society; a local community in South Lebanon, the religious leader Muhammad Husayn Fadlallah, Hizballah itself, and their Shiite critics, I argue that this party has managed to get a hegemony over the Shiite community. Through this hegemony Hizballah has managed to become the dominant political force in Lebanon, and is thus able to control the direction of national politics as well. IV V Acknowledgements I would like to start by thanking my supervisors, Associate Professor Kjetil Selvik and Professor Gunvor Mejdell. I am deeply grateful for all their kind advices and the encouragement they gave me through the work with this thesis. The feedback offered me by Selvik was invaluable, I am very grateful! Further I would like to thank Associate Professor Bjørn Olav Utvik, for whom I have worked as Research Assistant for the past three years. -
OF LEBANON: WHAT WIKILEAKS TELLS US ABOUT AMERICAN EFFORTS to FIND an ALTERNATIVE to HIZBALLAH December 22, 2011 Gloria-Center.Org
http://www.gloria-center.org/2011/12/the-%e2%80%9cindependent-shi%e2%80%99a%e2%80%9d-of-lebanon-what-wikileaks-tells-us-about-american-efforts-to-find-an-alternative-to-hizballah/ THE “INDEPENDENT SHI’A” OF LEBANON: WHAT WIKILEAKS TELLS US ABOUT AMERICAN EFFORTS TO FIND AN ALTERNATIVE TO HIZBALLAH December 22, 2011 gloria-center.org By Phillip Smyth U.S. diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks have given a new insight into American policy in Lebanon, especially efforts to counter Hizballah. Hizballah’s willingness to use a combination of hard power through violence and coercion, combined with a softer touch via extensive patronage networks has given them unmatched control over the Shi’a community since the 2005 Cedar Revolution. Using these released cables, this study will focus on efforts, successes, and failures made by so-called “independent” Shi’i political organizations, religious groups, and NGOs to counter Hizballah’s pervasive influence among Lebanon’s Shi’a. I sat in on a fascinating meeting yesterday with some independent Shia Muslims – that is to say, Shias who are trying to fight against Hezbollah’s influence in Lebanon. They’re an admirable group of people, really on the front lines of history in a pretty gripping way… To make a long story short, the March 14 coalition pretty much screwed them… However: you know how everyone says Lebanon is so complicated? Well, it is, but once you understand a few basic particulars on why things are structured as they are, it’s really not so different from other places. – Michael Tomasky, American journalist, March 13, 2009.[1] INTRODUCTION Leaked cables emanating from Wikileaks have provided a unique insight into a realm of U.S. -
Umam Tristan Hillion-Launey VF
Umam Documentation and Research: Collecter, conserver et faire parler des archives au Liban Tristan Hillion-Launey, doctorant au CéSor, EHESS, Paris Locaux d’Umam à Haret Hreik, Source : https://www.umam-dr.org//about/ 1 Umam est un centre de documentation privé lancé en 2005 visant à réunir des archives relatives à l’histoire du Liban et des guerres civiles (1975-1990). Dans le cadre de mes recherches de master, j’ai eu l’opportunité d’étudier quelques fonds en possession du liés respectivement au العهد et al-‘Ahd أمل centre, en particulier les hebdomadaires Amal mouvement Amal et au Hezbollah, et de me faire une idée des autres archives qu’ont pu récupérer les équipes d’Umam, extrêmement nombreuses, mais hétérogènes. Les archives du centre incluent de nombreux documents originaux et inédits, rarement mobilisés par les chercheurs et chercheuses, qui demeurent inégalement inventoriés et plus ou moins difficiles d’accès. Les informations et « inventaires » dressés ci-après sont le fruit de recherches dans les locaux d’Umam, d’un entretien avec Lokman Slim (fondateur et principal animateur d'Umam avec Monika Borgmann), et de recherches réalisées dans la presse libanaise en ligne. Commencé plusieurs mois avant l’assassinat de Lokman Slim le 4 février 2021, ce travail explore une partie des archives réunies par lui et ses collaborateurs depuis quinze ans et met en lumière l’intérêt et l’originalité de cette initiative ainsi que la richesse des fonds collectés. Ce papier a toutefois été légèrement retravaillé dans les jours suivant la disparition de Lokman, et enrichi de courts échanges avec ses premiers collaborateurs : l’historienne Jihane Sfeir et le géographe Tristan Khayat, ainsi qu’avec la développeuse Ghina Barbir, qui a travaillé sur la dernière version du site d’Umam1. -
Lebanon: the Chimera of a Shi'a "Third Way"
LEBANON: THE CHIMERA OF A SHI’A ‘THIRD WAY’ Rodger Shanahan* As the wave of popular protests and armed uprisings in the Arab world reshapes regional politics, Iran’s influence in the Levant is coming under enormous pressure as the Assad regime looks increasingly unable to better the armed opposition. But those who see a post-Ba‘athist Damascus as the prelude to the isolation, if not demise of Hizbullah, will be disappointed. Both Lebanese domestic politics and Hizbullah’s role within it are complex, and thoughts of a sudden shifting of support away from the Shi‘a Muslim party by its base because of greater regional demands for political plurality misreads the domestic context within which the Party of God operates. Of course, a post-Assad world is of concern to Hizbullah for several reasons. Syria has provided key logistic resupply routes and the diplomatic, and intelligence and security resources that only a friendly neighboring state can bring to bear. That having been said, the porous Lebanon/Syria border and Hizbullah influence over Rafiq Hariri airport’s security apparatus mean that a great deal of the logistic support could continue although the heavier weaponry would be more difficult to move. Assad’s fall could also reduce Hizbullah’s decisive martial edge over its political rivals. External training and logistic support from a Sunni-aligned Syrian government to the March 14 bloc or independent Sunni groups, or even the tacit acceptance of its conduct on Syrian soil could markedly improve the opposition’s militia capability. A situation which has something resembling military parity between political groupings could destabilize the country, but a Hizbullah less sure of the cost to itself of armed action may also result in a party more likely to countenance negotiated settlements than is currently the case. -
Political Party Mapping in Lebanon Ahead of the 2018 Elections
Political Party Mapping in Lebanon Ahead of the 2018 Elections Foreword This study on the political party mapping in Lebanon ahead of the 2018 elections includes a survey of most Lebanese political parties; especially those that currently have or previously had parliamentary or government representation, with the exception of Lebanese Communist Party, Islamic Unification Movement, Union of Working People’s Forces, since they either have candidates for elections or had previously had candidates for elections before the final list was out from the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities. The first part includes a systematic presentation of 27 political parties, organizations or movements, showing their official name, logo, establishment, leader, leading committee, regional and local alliances and relations, their stance on the electoral law and their most prominent candidates for the upcoming parliamentary elections. The second part provides the distribution of partisan and political powers over the 15 electoral districts set in the law governing the elections of May 6, 2018. It also offers basic information related to each district: the number of voters, the expected participation rate, the electoral quotient, the candidate’s ceiling on election expenditure, in addition to an analytical overview of the 2005 and 2009 elections, their results and alliances. The distribution of parties for 2018 is based on the research team’s analysis and estimates from different sources. 2 Table of Contents Page Introduction ....................................................................................................... -
Transforming Memories: Cultural Production and Personal/Public Memory in Lebanon and Morocco
Transforming Memories: Cultural Production and Personal/Public Memory in Lebanon and Morocco. Beirut: Zentrum Moderner Orient, Berlin; UMAM Documentation and Research, Beirut, 12.03.2012-14.03.2012. Reviewed by Saadi Nikro Published on H-Soz-u-Kult (October, 2012) “Transforming Memories: Cultural Produc‐ the project addresses memory as transformative tion and Personal/Public Memory in Lebanon and sites and practices in which past and present are Morocco” is a research project initiated by Zen‐ situated as shifting boundaries of personal and trum Moderner Orient in Berlin, in partnership public signification, affiliation, and conflict. with UMAM Documentation and Research in The project formally began in January 2012, Beirut, Lebanon. The project is funded by the and runs till the end of 2013. The March work‐ Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft. The research shop brought together the participants to inaugu‐ team consists of Dr. Sonja Hegasy, Vice-Director of rate the project. It was held at the headquarters of ZMO, and Monika Borgmann and Lokman Slim, UMAM Documentation and Research in Beirut, in Directors of UMAM. There are three subprojects: their exhibition space “The Hangar”. Dr. Saadi Nikro, “Sites of ReMemory: Situating In the frst session on the frst day of the Cultural Production and Civil War in Lebanon”; workshop MONIKA BORGMANN (Beirut) present‐ Laura Menin, “Wounded Memories: An Ethno‐ ed UMAM—its beginning, its various activities graphic Approach to Contemporary Moroccan and projects, past and present. The idea of setting Cultural Production”; and Makram Rabah, “Mem‐ up UMAM came about during Borgmann’s collab‐ ory and Reconciliation: Conflict on Mount oration with her partner and co-director LOK‐ Lebanon”. -
Lebanese Parliamentary Elections 2009: Candidates by Electoral Lists
International Foundation for Electoral Systems Lebanese Parliamentary Elections 2009: Candidates by Electoral Lists 20 May 2009 District Total Number March 14 March 8 Non- Total Seats of Registered Affiliated List Affiliated List Affiliated List per District Candidates Announced Announced Announced Akkar 40 ! ! 7 Minieh-Dinnieh 35 ! 3 Bcharré 8 ! ! 2 Tripoli 40 ! 8 Zgharta 10 ! ! 3 Koura 15 ! ! 3 Batroun 9 ! ! 2 Jbeil 25 ! ! ! 3 Kesrwan 27 ! ! 5 Metn 26 ! ! 8 Baabda 36 ! ! ! 6 Aley 14 ! ! 5 Chouf 21 ! ! 8 Baalbek-Hermel 41 ! 10 Zahlé 61 ! 7 West Bekka-Rashaya 25 ! ! 6 Beirut One 20 ! ! 5 Beirut Two 8 ! ! 4 Beirut Three 41 ! ! 10 Saïda 6 ! 2 Jezzine 22 ! ! 3 Zahrany 10 ! 3 Nabatieh 14 ! 3 Hasbaya-Marjayoun 16 ! 5 Tyre 8 ! 4 Bint Jbeil 9 ! 3 Totals 587 128 Unofficial translation of names by IFES based on data published by the Ministry of the Interior. Electoral lists are identified as bloc-affiliated only after an official announcement, either by the bloc or by affiliated parties. Information accurate as of 19 May 2009. Lebanese Parliamentary Elections 2009 Candidates by Electoral List Akkar 7 seats 3 Sunnite, 2 Greek Orthodox, 1 Alawite, 1 Maronite March 14 affiliated list March 8 affiliated list Khaled Zahraman (FM) SU Mohammad Yehia SU Khaled Daher SU Saoud Al-Youssef SU Mouin Al-Merhebi (FM) SU Wajih Al-Baarini SU Nidal Tohmeh GO Joseph Shahda (FPM) GO Riad Rahal (FM) GO Karim Al-Rassi (Marada) GO Khodor Habib AL Moustapha Hussein AL Hadi Hobeish(FM) MA Mikhaël Daher MA Candidates with no announced list Abdallah Zakaria SU Maher Abdallah