Power sharing and security in Lebanon

At the end of November, a major government crisis in Lebanon seems contained. The crisis broke out when the prime minister, Saad al-Hariri announced his resignation in a pre-written statement in Riyadh November 4. Everybody today agrees that the resignation was the work of Saudi Arabia with the purpose of instigating sectarian conflict in Lebanon between the Sunni led government and Hezbollah. Actually, it led to the opposite: a broad national support for al-Hariri who at his return was celebrated almost like a rock star. Interestingly, he was having great support from Hezbollah.

Howsoever Saudi Arabia will react to this situation in Lebanon in the coming weeks and months it shows how the power sharing among the elites in Lebanon reacts when it comes to threats of security of the tiny Lebanese state be it from external powers, from the influx of refugees or from the internal opposition. I an article just published in the journal International Relations and Diplomacy, DIIS researcher Lars Erslev Andersen analyses the function and the dilemmas of the power sharing structure in Lebanese politics focusing on migration and internal opposition from the movements ‘You Stink’ and ‘Beirut Madinati’ as cases for the argument.