The latest issue in our Accord series highlights that Lebanon’s model of post-war power sharing and liberal economic growth has been widely praised, but has failed to deliver for most of its people. Repeated outbreaks of political violence since the 1989 Taif Peace Agreement, and fear of further spread of insecurity in neighbouring Syria, show that a fundamentally different approach is needed.
The relationship between Lebanon and Syria must be respected as an essential bond ... No Lebanese party must be implicated in violence or civil war in Syria, as this would spill over into Lebanon.
Ali Fayyad, 8 March Alliance/Hezbollah MP, featured in Accord 24
Reconciliation, reform and resilience: positive peace for Lebanon explores ways in which Lebanese people have been actively pushing boundaries to transform negative and precarious stability in Lebanon into positive and resilient peace.
Edited by Elizabeth Picard and Alexander Ramsbotham, this issue of Accord highlights that the Lebanese people are not merely passive victims of a violent fate determined beyond their country’s borders: many are working for change.
International policy needs to focus on conflict prevention and peacebuilding
Today’s situation is comparable with the pre-war years, when the combination of domestic tensions and regional pressures resulted in the breakdown of the Lebanese state and the country’s destruction.
There are significant challenges to building a just and lasting peace. Economic outlooks are grim and acute underdevelopment of areas beyond Beirut has still not been properly addressed.
Lebanon’s post-war ‘cosmetic democracy’ has left internal tensions vulnerable to regional insecurity – namely Syrian interference and Israeli armed threat and incursions.
Although the Taif Agreement ended the war, it did not promote any efforts to address collective memory or dialogue between the parties.
Samir Frangieh, member of the General Secretariat of 14 March Alliance and former MP, featured in Accord 24
Sectarian tensions simmer and Lebanese leaders have withdrawn into conservatism, seeking to protect their privileges and blocking practically every peacebuilding initiative and expected reform.
External interventions in Lebanon have had a largely negative impact with regard to consolidating peace. These have been driven primarily by external – often conflicting – strategic interests, and have interacted with Lebanon’s sectarian political power sharing system to encourage and embed internal rivalry.
Priorities for peace in Lebanon
International partners must be coordinated and consistent. This 24th publication in our Accord series includes more than 30 articles that demonstrate peacebuilding responses to promote reconciliation, reform and sovereign resilience demand equal attention.
The accompanying policy brief sets out 10 priorities for change that together suggest Lebanon must:
- deal with its past;
- engage with everyone, including Hezbollah;
- reform and decentralise; and
- protect Lebanon’s internal political space - especially in light of events elsewhere in the region.
Funded by the European Commission’s Instrument for Stability, Positive peace for Lebanon highlights that peacebuilding responses need to be addressed strategically and simultaneously, to identify leverage points within Lebanon's conflict system to affect positive change.