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

This book is both a comprehensive history and a penetrating analysis of war in Lebanon in recent years. Though primarily a surrogate war over Palestine, in recent years the conflict has also become one between different Lebanese groups which can only be understood in the light of these groups' fears of being excluded from the country's political and social power-centres. The book's main theme is the problem of conflict and conflict regulation in Lebanon. How were conflicts regulated peacefully in pre-war Lebanon? How do the Lebanese - political and military leaders on the one hand and ordinary citizens on the other - view events in their country? What are their aspirations, and what do they believe they must realistically settle for? Can peaceful co-existence between Lebanon's different communities be re-established? The answers to these questions are of fundamental importance not only to Lebanon but the whole Middle East peace process. Professor Hanf's discussion of them is based on extensive first-hand research, as well as a wide range of primary and secondary sources.