Pax Syriana: Elite Politics in Postwar Lebanon (Modern Intellectual and Political History of the Middle East) - Hardcover

El-Husseini, Rola

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0815633041 ISBN 13: 9780815633044

Publisher: Syracuse University Press, 2012

Synopsis

The recent political history of Lebanon has been defined by the legacy of war. In addition to repeated external invasions and the ongoing presence of foreign troops of diverse nationalities, the Lebanese people have endured the scars left by a bitterly contested civil war that began in the spring of 1975 and continued unabated for the next fifteen years. While much has been written about the tragedy of the civil war, el-Husseini's Pax Syriana is the first book focused on the evolution of the postwar political scene.
In a series of negotiations brokered by Saudi Arabia, under the auspices of the larger international community, the civil war came to an end with the signing of the Ta'if Agreement. This agreement ushered in an era of Syrian control and rule by a disparate group of power elites. El-Husseini provides an in-depth account of how the political elite left an indelible mark on the Lebanese state and society. Through extensive field work and firsthand interviews, el-Husseini offers an intimate portrait of postwar Lebanon and shows how the Syrian influence brought a degree of stability to this fragmented nation and yet simultaneously undermined the development of a full constitutional democracy as Lebanon began to acquire some of the authoritarian character of the Syrian regime.

About this title

About the Author:

Rola El-Husseini is assistant professor at the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M. Her articles have appeared in the Middle East Journal, Orient, Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, and Third World Quarterly.

Review:

From the Foreword
"I served twice in Lebanon, as political counselor at the American Embassy from 1981 to 1984, and as an ambassador from 1990 to 1993. As a practitioner I would have given a great deal for a comprehensive, well researched, and balanced guide to Lebanon's chaotic politics. Thanks to Rola el-Husseini, now we have it." --Ryan Crocker, former United States Ambassador to Lebanon and Syria

" The author, drawing on years of study and analysis, proves herself a steady and judicious guide to recent Lebanese politics. she has produced an invaluable and much needed account of recent Lebanese politics, one anyone with an interest in Lebanon will benefit from reading."-- A.R. Norton, Boston University."

About this edition

• Publisher: Syracuse University Press
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0815633041
• ISBN 13: 9780815633044
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 346