“States” within a state: Lebanese foreign policy a decade after the Hariri assassination

Abstract

During the decade after the Hariri assassination in 2005, domestic political divisions were a sharp reflection of a profound dispute over Lebanon’s foreign affairs, principally in terms of its position towards conflict with Israel, and in affiliation with other regional struggles affecting a final peace resolution of the Palestine issue – itself influenced by regional and international state friendships, systematic bullying, and manipulative relationships. This also maintained negative outcomes for Lebanon, especially with the continued Israeli occupation of neighbouring Arab state lands – whether Lebanese, Syrian or Palestinian territories – in violation of their integral state sovereignty. In this respect, while Lebanese foreign policy was predominantly coordinated with Syria (from as early as the 1991 Madrid Middle East Peace Conference), following the Hariri assassination Syria’s withdrawal left Lebanon with major political gaps. Mainly split over the concept of Lebanese state sovereignty amidst occasional foreign (political/armed) interventions in Lebanon and the region, accompanied by exploitative economic rewards, debts, briberies or sanctions. Correspondingly, this thesis examines the patterns and dynamics of Lebanese foreign policy, focusing on the internal and external factors shaping the contrasts in foreign policy behaviour, especially with the failure of international efforts for peace and the escalation of regional conflict after 2011, which impacted upon Lebanon’s geopolitical sovereignty interests. The thesis also investigates historic geo-dynamics that continue to contribute to the exploitation of equal civil and civic citizenship rights in the Lebanese state, being thus an obstacle to equal power-sharing influenced by the state issue in the region and in international relations amidst a constant cycle of conflict and violence. These are mainly considered by assessing issues of equal sovereignty relationships in a post-peace/war regional order, guarantors of equal social and individual citizenship rights, and identities or freedoms protected by the civil state and their relevance in interpreting foreign policy behaviour.