Introduction
Lebanon is characterized by cultural identity of ethnic and religious diversity owing to its location at the crossroad of Arabian hinterland and Mediterranean Basin (Choueiri, 2013). Following the country’s independence from France in the year 1943, the “confessionalism” political system was established allowing for power sharing between different religious communities located in the region. The capital city of Lebanon, Beirut, serves as a regional center for trade and finance. Since independence, Lebanon has experienced the interspersion of political stability and prosperity, and political turmoil (Fisk, 2012). Lebanon is located between Israel to the south and Syria to the east and north. The instability in Middle East countries, like Israel and Syrian often spills out to Lebanon causing different instances of, external aggression, political assassination, national government collapse and civil war such as 2006 Lebanon war, 2007-2008 Lebanon conflict, and various instances of sectarian violence (Marshall, 2012). This paper seeks to evaluate the current events in Lebanon, their impact to the country, and the significance of Lebanon to the United States. The paper shall also give a predictive analysis of Lebanon in both short term and long term.
Current Events within the Last Three Years
Over the last three years, Lebanon has experienced a period of social turmoil and sectarian tensions (Preston, 2014). Since the civil War broke out in Syrian in the year 2011, Lebanon has had its great share of the skirmishes. The Syrian war has lead to a split between Shiites who throws their support behind the Syria government led by Assad and Sunni Muslims who renders their support to the Syrian rebels. This turmoil has lead to un...
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...on Books.
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Anson Rainey and R. Steven Notley are the authors of The Sacred Land Bridge, which is an Atlas of the biblical world and includes maps, pictures, and historical cementation as to the significance of this region. The biblical world that this atlas focuses on is defined as the eastern Mediterranean littoral, or more commonly called the Levant in modern archeological discussions. In my critique of this book I will be focusing on pages 30-34 which will define the boundaries and explain the importance of the Levant.
Samii, Abbas William. "The Shah's Lebanon policy: the role of SAVAK." Middle Eastern Studies 33.1 (1997): 66+. World History in Context. Web. 19 May 2014.
Sectarian conflict has been part of the Middle East since the passing of Prophet Muhammad in the seventh century. The Syrian Civil War has opened up the sectarian conflict within Syria. The growing sectarian conflict in Syria is causing even more problems to the Syrian Civil War. The Syrian Sunni’s anger towards the Alawites is intense and powerful because of the Alawites being responsible for the number of carnages against them. In 1982 a Sunni revolt led by the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood, confronted Bashar al-Assad’s father, Hafiz al-Assad. Hafiz al-Assad responded with terminating entire neighborhoods, historic landmarks, and non-violent citizens. This did not just subdue the revolt, but led to generational revenge. The Alawites, an offshoot sect of Shia Islam, are headed by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The Alawite Assad family has controlled Syria for almost 50 years thanks to the loose minority alliance with Christians, Druze, and other various smaller ethnic groups. Syria’s population consists of Sunni Arab’s (around 60 percent); Alawites (about 10-12 percent); Christians (about 10-12 percent); Kurds (around 9 percent); Druze (around 6 percent); and other ethnic minorities. For the most part, the Sunni’s consist of the Free Syrian Army and the Syrian National Council. Captain Ayham al-Kurdi of the Free Syrian Army stated, “Ninety percent of Alawites are with the regime.” Captai...
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Hezbollah, meaning “Party of God”, was created out of a volatile time in Lebanon. Lebanon in the 1970s was a collection of warring factions within the country. Palestinian guerrillas, Shiite Muslims, right-wing Christian Phalangists and leftist Sunni Muslims fought alongside as well as against each other for control of Lebanon's destiny. Syria moved in troops to aid the Christian Phalangists against the Shite Muslims. Israel was fighting against the PLO at time, which had footholds in Lebanon. In June 1982, Israeli defense minister, Ariel Sharon ordered 120,000 soldiers to invade southern Lebanon and engage the PLO. The Syrian troops put up little resistance to the Israelis. PLO forces were routed within days. Israel, very quickly, had control of about 25 percent of Lebanon, in...
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Since March 2011, Syria had no longer experienced a situation called peace and harmony. Syrian’s daily life is filled with the events of killing, bombing and torturing of their brothers and sisters. This unresolved conflict began with a revolution to against the government for brook the promise to have betterment in political system (citation). However the government had responded by harsh action. Starting from this point, Syria had slide into Civil War. Based on the brief description about situation in Syria, I strongly believe that the best International Relation theory to describe this situation is constructivism. This is because the Civil War in Syria is socially constructed by some factors which will be discussed deeply in the next paragraph. In this essay, I will emphasize on the two factors that lead to Syria Civil War which are identity conflict in a state and the absence of shared norms of sovereignty; and provide a solution from constructivism perspective which is diplomacy negotiation and limitation to it.
Quarterly, inc. "Syria." The Middle East. 11th ed. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2007. 437 - 456. Print.
Lebanon is a diverse small mountainous country in Asia (Darwiche 3: 1266). Despite Lebanon’s small size, it was recorded recorded to have a population close to 3.5 million people in the late 90 's (Darwiche 3: 1266). However, the population has greatly risen since that time due to approximately one million Syrian refugees entering the country (Cammett). Lebanon and the United States contrast in many ways in terms of religion and how it affects government and education, but there are more similarities in these categories than one might predict.
There is no room for Palestinian creativity in Lebanon because Palestinians are refugees! Quiet terrifying, isn’t it? It is the sad reality, however. This is the price that Palestinians pay every day because they decided to reside in Lebanon and escape inevitable death in Palestine. Nevertheless, Palestinians were able to cope with daily challenges, assimilate to new cultures, thrive, and persist.
Morocco,is a country in the northwestern corner of Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea on the north and the Atlantic Ocean on the west. The Strait of Gibraltar, which connects the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, separates Morocco from Spain by only about 8 miles (13 kilometers). Fertile plains lie along Morocco's coasts, and forested mountains stretch across the middle of the country from southwest to northeast. Beyond the mountains lies a sun-baked desert, the Sahara. Rabat is Morocco's capital, and Casablanca is the largest city. Nearly all Moroccans are of mixed Arab and Spanish descent. But the people make up two distinct ethnic groups--Arab and Spanish--depending mainly on whether they speak Arabic or Spanish. Almost all Moroccans are Muslims. Farming is the chief occupation, and more than half the people live in rural areas. France and Spain controlled Morocco from the early 1900's until it won independence in 1956.