Nabih Berri And Lebanese Politics

Nabih Barri is a key figure in the Lebanese and Shi'ite politics for the last three decades. As the leader of the Shi'ite Amal movement since 1980 and as the Lebanese Speaker since 1992, Barri played a major role in all political events and processes in Lebanon between the early 1980's and today, including the current severe Lebanese crisis.

This book examines the coalitions and relationships within the power centers of Shi'ite politics during the era of political feudalism in Lebanon. The author maps the Shi'ite leadership and its inter-connections, including the alliances and rivalry between prominent Zu'ama, clans, and Ulama' from the formation of Lebanon in 1920 to the decline of old Shi'ite politics and the emergence of popular movements in the 1970s. The work also explains the role of prominent intellectuals within these power centers.

Lebanon is going through the worst crisis in its history. Even as the crisis was brewing, the usual proposals, out of touch with economic and social reality, kept popping up: move from the rentier economy to the productive economy, specialize in high value-added activities, rely on the high level of education of the Lebanese, wait for revenues from the offshore oil to be discovered, and so on. So many incantation statements of cultivated illusions. The critical and necessary question that needs to be asked, but that has not been asked by all those who pretend to be statesmen: what economy for Lebanon, and what State can lead to such an economy? This is not a technical nor a technocratic question, but an eminently political one. Lebanon has had four models in the recent history, culminating with the economy of regulated looting and redistribution (1985 until yesterday), which has just collapsed. Actually, the collapse of the public finances and the banking system are consequences of the collapse of the political-economic system, in place since the mid-1980s and institutionalized in the early 1990s. So what economy does Lebanon need to be strong, and what political system is necessary for such an economy? The book, An Economy and a State for Lebanon, presents various scenarios, various avenues for a small economy, such as Lebanon’s, to function in a productive manner. What is needed is political leadership with a wise and courageous vision, and with the freedom from sectarian handicaps to enact the necessary policies. An economy is comprised of people (labour) first and resources, including capital, second. For both, holistic public action is required. The financial crisis, uncovered in 2019, did not happen accidentally. It is necessary to know its causes, at the very least, to avoid falling back into bankruptcy, and, also, to build a pathway forward. A careful examination and analysis of the public finances, away from accounting recipes, reveals how the role of public finances actually adapted to the needs of maintaining the political system itself. They are not separate from each other. By its very nature, the Lebanese political economic system consumes resources: capital and this consumption is traceable though the accumulation of capital liabilities, and human beings traceable though the ever increasing stock of Lebanese emigrants. To refrain from consuming Lebanon’s resources and people, a new political economic system is needed. What is critical, during this transition, is a political leadership with the wisdom to transform Lebanon’s economy and society and with the courage to be flexible in building a sustainable political and economic system. Flexibility is needed because of the changing domestic conditions (such as the population’s socio-political structure) and because of the changing regional conditions (such as the security and economic situation in Syria). The book formulates the strategic preference in a rational and tangible way by reviewing numerous critical aspects, including a discussion on which currency would be suitable for which project and the impacts of financial losses and of emigration. Perhaps the most powerful aspect of the book is its critical discussion on alternatives, including courses of action and institutional actions, including the role of banks, Lebanon’s currency, and taxation. Furthermore, grounded policies are suggested for key sectors in the country in non-tradable basic services (health, education, housing, electricity, etc…). Clear pathways are presented, offering possibilities as to how the Lebanese can finally build a strong, productive economy. A strong economy can only be built when the citizens and residents of Lebanon are respected and not treated for export as commodities, and thus a cohesive, strong society is needed. Only a strong, courageous and free political leadership can initiate this pathway, and it can only happen in the context of a civil state.

Nabih Barri is a key figure in the Lebanese and Shi'ite politics for the last three decades. As the leader of the Shi'ite Amal movement since 1980 and as the Lebanese Speaker since 1992, Barri played a major role in all political events and processes in Lebanon between the early 1980's and today, including the current severe Lebanese crisis.

The Shi'a of Lebanon have emerged in the last 30 years to become a major force in Lebanese politics, having previously long been a marginalised political community. Here, Rodger Shanahan examines the reasons behind this transformation from a largely rural population dominated by a handful of elite families, to an assertive sectarian force whose new-found power is exemplified by the emergence and influence of Shi'i political parties, most notably Hezbollah. In this unique and perceptive study, Shanahan explores the development of the Shi'i community from the imposition of French mandatory rule, through independence and the bloody civil war of the 1970s and 1980s to the withdrawal of Israeli forces from South Lebanon in 2000. Here, for the first time in paperback, Shanahan also examines the more recent controversies and crises of the 2006 War with Israel and the death of Ayatollah Muhammad Fadlallah.

Lebanon seems a country in the grip of permanent crisis. In recent years it has suffered blow after blow, from Rafiq Hariri's assassination in 2005, to the 2006 July War, to the current Syrian conflict, which has brought a million refugees streaming into the country. This is an account not just of Lebanon's high politics, with its endless rows, walk-outs, machinations and foreign alliances, but also of the politics of everyday life: all the stresses and strains the country's inhabitants face, from electricity black-outs and uncollected rubbish to stagnating wages and property bubbles. Andrew Arsan moves between parliament and the public squares where protesters gather, between luxury high-rises and refugee camps, and between expensive nightclubs and seafront promenades, providing a comprehensive view of Lebanon in the twenty-first century. Where others have treated Lebanon's woes as exceptional, a by-product of its sectarianism and particular vulnerability to regional crises, Arsan argues that there is nothing particular about Lebanon's predicament. Rather, it is a country of the age--one of neoliberal economics, populist fervor, forced displacement, rising xenophobia, and public disillusion. Lebanon, in short, offers us a lens through which to look on our times.

Covering three Lebanese municipalities with striking sectarian diversity, Saida, Bourj Hammoud and Tyre, this book investigates the ways in which local service delivery, local interactions and vertical relationships matter in building peace.

Sandwiched between Syria and Israel, Lebanon is perhaps fated to be engulfed in the frequent bouts of violence that plague the wider Middle East region. In summer 2006, Beirut found itself once more under siege as Israeli missiles rained upon the capital. More often than not, however, the fighting has been internal - Lebanon has suffered frequent civil wars throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.