The complexity of Lebanese politics is explored through the challenges of managing its diverse population, highlighting issues like institutional paralysis and systemic stagnation. The book specifically examines how the Lebanese state has adapted to the political landscape following the Arab Spring, providing insights into the intricate dynamics of governance and societal plurality in Lebanon.
Surveying the causes of the Arab Spring, and revealing the governing trends arising from it, this book examines various international relation theories through the lens of the experiences of the countries in the Middle East and North Africa region. It takes the events of the Arab Spring as an outcome of globalization’s double movement whose integrative cultural, political and security frameworks devastated nationally controlled economies, undermining the nation-state system and propagating a decentralized and communitarian-based governance structure. The consequences for many plural, diverse societies were autocratic nationalism was discarded while decentralized regimes representing communitarian-based politics came to the fore. The author reveals how the formulation of a new communitocratic order rests on the accommodation of this newly emerging communitarianism and explores the major drivers of political transformation, describing the emerging communities, forecasting their governing options and the possible repercussions for the post-Arab Spring states.
The book surveys comparative power sharing models implemented in societies that have faced identity-conflicts, with attention given to post-conflict design. It analyzes the success and pitfalls of international experiences before proposing a model for Syria. Contributors address the central question: which among the set of power-sharing agreements that have helped settle protracted identity-driven armed conflict can provide Syria with a platform for dialogue, negotiation, and conflict mitigation? The comparative analysis advanced in this book extracts lessons from countries such as Bosnia-Herzegovina, India, Iraq, Lebanon, Mali, Northern Ireland, the Philippines and Sudan. The prospect of a post-conflict distribution of power in Syria is then unraveled from different sectarian, ethnic and regional perspectives. The authors also address challenges of peacebuilding such as violent extremism, gender participation, resettlements, retributions, transitional justice, integration of armed groups and regional and international sponsorship.