Sunni-Shia tensions heightened with the death of Lebanon's Prime Minister Rafic Al Hariri and Syria's withdrawal from the country in 2005. They became much more intense with the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011. The killing of Rafik Hariri was the first and most powerful earthquake in Syria's Sunni-Shia balancing act, which had previously been managed by Syria.

Between Hariri's assassination in 2005 and the start of the Syrian uprising in 2011, the years that followed were marked by uncertainty, carnage, and continuous unrest. The conflict between Hezbollah and Israel in July 2006 established the party and the community on whose behalf it claimed to speak as a major regional power.



Post-Taif 

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.


University of San Diego

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.

Historical Context

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

Davis Political Review on Lebanon (2020)

Bahout, J. (2016). The Unraveling of Lebanon's Taif Agreement: Limits of Sect-based Power Sharing (Vol. 16). Washington, DC: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Taif Agreement - Lebanon

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

Lebanese Civil War

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. 


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