Coexistence in Wartime Lebanon: Decline of a State and Rise of a Nation - Softcover

Hanf, Theodor

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1848857152 ISBN 13: 9781848857155

Publisher: I.B. Tauris, 2015

Synopsis

For fifteen years, Lebanon's disparate confessional groups waged a bloody and protracted civil war. Still today, power-sharing between Sunni, Shi'i, Christian and Druze groups is a precarious balance, greatly affected by and in turn affecting events across the Middle East. But even during times of conflict, Lebanon's communities have managed a modicum of coexistence: agreeing on the importance of maintaining the Lebanese state and sharing the fear of being the player left standing in a macabre game of musical chairs. Tracing the origins of the civil war, Theodor Hanf shows that it was primarily a surrogate war over Palestine which escalated into a conflict between the diverse Lebanese communities. Hanf's central theme is the problem of conflict and conflict regulation between these groups, a theme which continues to have resonance over two decades since the end of the civil war. This highly influential book - now available in a paperback edition - delves into vital issues, such as how conflicts were peacefully regulated before the war, and how the country came to be a battlefield for proxy wars and analyses the prospects for permanent coexistence.

About this title

About the Author

Theodor Hanf is Honorary Professor of Political Science, University of Freiburg, Germany, and Visiting Professor of Political Studies, American University of Beirut, Lebanon. From 1972 to 2006 he was Director of the Arnold-Bergstraesser-Institute, Freiburg/Breisgau, Germany.

Edition details

• Publisher: I.B. Tauris
• Publication date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1848857152
• ISBN 13: 9781848857155
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 736