Lebanon’s recently announced national unity government has eased fears that the country would once again be mired in a dangerous political stalemate. Yet, despite the recent breakthrough, Lebanon’s unstable equilibrium—marked by both internal and regional tensions could still devolve into serious violence. …
Beyond the new consensus government, two critical developments would help to facilitate peace and stability in Lebanon:
- First, the Lebanese should create an institutionalized dialogue process that builds confidence and keep lines of communication open among Lebanon’s confessional communities. The National Dialogue offers an important opportunity to institutionalize a dialogue process that provides a forum for representatives of all confessions to discuss critical issues such as developing national defense strategy (implicitly tackling the prickly issue of Hezbollah’s arms) as well as other political and societal issues. …
- Second, political and economic reforms must move forward. These include: electoral and municipal law reforms in preparation for next year’s municipal elections; administrative decentralization (as envisioned by the 1989 Ta’if Agreement which ended Lebanon’s civil war) and the creation of elected regional (Qada’) councils. Ministerial reforms including capacity building and reducing corruption to insure better service provision are also essential as are socioeconomic reforms that begin to address Lebanon’s significant public debt (estimated at $50 billion), education and employment issues. Access the full briefing>>
