This system of administration ensured that each religious group in Lebanon had representation in important political posts, dividing the Lebanese Parliament evenly between Muslims and Christians, and ensuring that the President is a Maronite Christian, The Prime Minister a Sunni, and the Speaker of Parliament a Shia.

In Lebanon, virtually every significant governmental post was designated for a single religious group. While the new system helped to de-escalate tensions, the political position was now chosen by sect and religion rather than talent and skill.


The Taif Agreement 

Nearby countries such as Iraq, Syria, Israel, and Libya had a say in the Lebanese crisis at one time. For example, Syria, which has one of the largest armies among Arab countries, and Israel both invaded Lebanon for long periods of time. Local Lebanese forces allied with foreign regional powers in both occupations to strengthen their own roles within the government. Regional states like Saudi Arabia, as well as foreign forces like the United Kingdom, France, and the United States all played political and military roles in Lebanon at some point. As a result, the Lebanese civil war was an internationalized civil war. After 15 years of bombings and massacres that took over 150,000 lives, the Arab League mediated a peace treaty that enabled the various groups to come to terms. 


Historical context 1

The origins of today's insecurity may be traced back to the Lebanese civil war. Decades of sectarian struggle between Shias, Sunnis, and the Maronite Christian majority erupted into full-fledged violence in 1975, following an Israeli takeover attempt. Over the course of 15 years, militant violence claimed over 120,000 lives before tensions began to ease with the 1989 Taif Accord.

University of San Diego

Lebanon, a country in the Middle East with only 10452 square km, faced a civil war in 1975 and lasted for 15 years. The Lebanese Civil War is generally regarded as one of the bloodiest and longest in Middle Eastern history. It has been widely described as a civil war since it split the Lebanese people along sectarian lines, including Christians and Muslims militias battling for control of Lebanon's political structure. The country has a high degree of ethnoreligious heterogeneity, which are 3 religions, and 18 recognized sects. As a result, the Lebanese civil war was an internationalized civil war After 15 years of bombings and massacres that took over 150,000 lives, the Arab League mediated a peace treaty called the Taif agreement, which enabled the various groups to come to terms. This agreement was a bad decision, leading the country to revolt in 2019 until today, and resulting in 2 explosions to date due to corruption, nepotism, government theft, interventionism, and sectarianism. Today, the Lebanese currency lost 95% of its value, the country is facing a severe economic crisis, unemployment is at 40%, people cannot afford their basic needs counting food, fuel, gas, hospitals and medicine. 


An Overview of the Lebanese Crisis

Haugbolle, S. (2011). The historiography and the memory of the Lebanese civil war. Online encyclopedia of mass violence, 5.

Lebanese Civil War

https://www.davispoliticalreview.com/article/lebanons-political-reality-beacon-of-hope-or-endless-darkness

Davis Political Review on Lebanon (2020)

Historical Context

The new administration failed to stabilize the country as sectarian violence persisted in areas of Lebanon and young unemployment was prevalent. With a debt-to-GDP ratio of 152 percent, Lebanon became the world's third most indebted country.

Former General and President Michel Aoun, as well as Prime Minister Saad Al-Hariri, Rafik Al-Hariri's son, were ineffectual in bringing about meaningful change and instead blamed other powerful forces for the unrest. These circumstances lasted for many years.

Since October 17, 2019, when the government announced a new set of taxes, Lebanon has experienced massive anti-government protests. Protests around the country have deteriorated into demonstrations of rage against the whole political elite, which protestors blame for the country's poor economic situation.

Crises 

Lebanon is in the grip of a severe and protracted economic downturn. According to the most recent World Bank Lebanon Economic Monitor (LEM), issued today, the economic and financial crisis is likely to rank in the top ten most catastrophic crises worldwide since the mid-nineteenth century.

Monetary and financial circumstances remain very volatile; in the framework of a multiple exchange rate system, the World Bank average exchange rate depreciated by 129% in 2020. The effect on pricing has resulted in soaring inflation, which is expected to average 84.3 percent in 2020. Real GDP is expected to decrease by 9.5 percent in 2021, owing to extremely high uncertainty.

More than half the population is expected to b below the national poverty line, with the majority of the workforce - paid in Lebanese pounds - suffering from falling buying power. With the unemployment rate rising, an increasing number of households are having trouble accessing essential services like as health care, electricity, food, fuel etc. 

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