The new state of Lebanon was established based on an unwritten agreement between the two most prominent leaders of the Christian and Muslim communities. This agreement came to be known as the National Pact or National Covenant (al Mithaq al Watani) which laid down four principles (Collelo 1987, 20-21):
Lebanon would be a completely independent and sovereign state.
Christian communities would cease identifying with the West, and the Muslims would protect Lebanese sovereignty vis-a-vis Arab intentions to annex it.
As an Arab country with Arabic as its official language, the state will continue to foster its spiritual and intellectual ties with the West as it had helped it achieve a lot of progress (development).
Lebanon will cooperate with other Arab states but not side with either in case of conflicts among them.
Public offices would be distributed proportionate to the population of the religious groups, however, technical positions will be based on competence not confessional considerations. This has specific repercussion on the position of president, prime minister, and speaker of the Chamber of Deputies.
This pact was considered fragile and that external pressure would threaten the stability of the Lebanese political system, as it happened in 1975 (Collelo 1987, 21). From 1943 -76 prominent family networks and patron-client relationships dominated politics.
1943 – 52 Lead up to the first Revolution
Under president Bishara al Khuri, this period saw imperialistic actions, abuses of power, and rampant corruption (Collelo 1987, 21-22). A radical reformist party Social National Front (SNF) was established in 1952 that gathered enough support to implement a strike to force the president to resign. This nonviolent (the military refused to involve itself in the matter) and effective movement is known as the “Rosewater Revolution”.
1952 – 58 Lead up to the First Civil War
In the mid 1950s and especially after the Suez Crisis, Nasser’s pan-Arabism brought on questions for Lebanon’s identity especially in terms of its National Pact. In 1958, Syria merged with Egypt to form the Uniter Arab Republic, which had dichotomous implications in Lebanon. The Christian dominated authorities wanted to focus on “maintaining the country’s autonomy and cooperating with the West” while the Lebanese Muslims, especially the Sunni’s were devoted to Nasser and the pan-Arab cause (Collelo 1987, 23). The friction caused by this agenda’s expression in the 1957 elections erupted in a violent rebellion. Camille Shamun, the then president, who was re-elected, called upon the US, Britain, and France in July of 1958 invoking the Eisenhower Doctrine accusing the Lebanese Muslims of acquiring arms from the Soviet Union via Syria.
1958 – 64
Led by Fuad Shihab, this period saw him expand the Chamber of Deputies to enable the representation of all the factions within the legislature. In observance of the National Pact, discuss politics where Christians and Muslims had equal footing (Collelo 1987, 24). With the removal of US troops by 1958 and subsequently a neutral foreign policy, this regime is known to have brought stability and economic development in Lebanon (Collelo 1987, 24 – 25). In this period, administrative and political reforms were introduced to address the drawbacks of confessionalism (Krayem 2009, 68). Reforms included
- civil service and social policy reform
- monetary laws with the establishment of the Central Bank
- expansion of primary education, primary health care, and essential social services
According to Krayem, “the Shehabist statist policies sought to build a modern state, capable of managing development and providing equitable distribution” (Krayem 2009, 69).
1964 – 75
Despite a good succession in Charles Hilu, and the continued promotion of Lebanese development, the Arab-Israeli war in 1967 had repercussions on Lebanese life. The infiltration of Palestinian guerrilla fighters and use of Lebanon as a base pressured the confessional balance (Collelo 1987, 25). Once again, there were two opposing views – Muslims viewing the fighters as defending a sacred cause, and Christians wanting preservation of sovereignty and independence above all. The continuing guerrilla attacks from southern Lebanon into Israel received backlash that affected the Lebanese (mainly Shia) population there.
In 1970, the expulsion of many Palestinians from Jordan due to clashes between the Jordan Army and PLO meant that they settled in Southern Lebanon. The allied themselves with the leftist groups as well as sympathetic Muslims who provided them support. This had repercussions on the existing divisions within the Lebanese government. High inflation rates, unemployment, guerrilla actions and retaliations led to civil unrest. The government declared martial law in some areas, initiated some new social and economic programs and negotiated with some guerrilla groups.
1975 – 89 Civil War
Attacks between the factions (Phalangists) and Palestinians spilled over into the different confessional layout of Beirut alongside a paralysis of the Lebanese government. The violence then echoed and expanded with many believing that at the centre of conflict was the imbalance of confessionalism (Collelo 1987, 29).Internal tensions coupled with multiple regional developments contributed to the breakdown of government authority and the outbreak of a civil war. Krayem notes,
The polarization of the public into two broad camps, and around two different contending political programs, intensified the crisis in the political system. Kamal Junblatt formed and led a self-proclaimed “democratic, progressive, and non-sectarian” front, which later allied itself with the Palestinians. The conservative forces, led by the predominantly Christian Kata’ib (Phalange) Party, formed another block called the Lebanese Front. The presence of the Palestinian resistance movement and the support it enjoyed from wide segments of the Lebanese population complicated the conflict further. The vulnerable political system could not withstand the pressure, and internal compromise became harder to achieve. In the spring of 1975 street clashes developed into full-scale war, which lasted, in various manifestations, for 15 years. Krayem 2009, 69)
1989 Ta’if Agreement
Before the war, Lebanon was describes as the “most stable democracy” in the Arab world by Western scholars (Shils 1966, in Krayem ). Ta’if was a gradual policy that outlined the goal being the abolition of political sectarianism. It introduced 31 constitutional amendments, but none altered the political structure. The changes only tried to institute a more equitable confessional system (Krayem 2009, 71).
Citations:
Collelo, Thomas, “Lebanon: a country study”, Federal Research Division Library of Congress: 1989
Krayem, Hassan, Lebanon: Confessionalism and the Crisis of Democracy, in Secularism, Women & the State: The Mediterranean World in the 21st Century edited by Barry A. Kosmin and Ariela Keysar, 2009, Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society and Culture: Hartford, pages 67 – 76.