Introduction Shall I be honest? I am from Europe. I was born in ...

„Lebanon – between Syria, Iran and Israel“: Essay by Marcel Mieta -2010690186- (November 2010) 

Seminar: POLS 444 - The Middle East in World Politics 

Introduction 

Shall I be honest? I am from Europe. I was born in Germany, normally I live in Hamburg. I am a 

person who has been interested in politics for about ten years now. I have read a lot of articles about 

different societies and countries but I have to admit that most of the people in Europe, including me, 

do not know anything about the Middle East. We always think that we do – but we do not. That is 

why we do not understand the complicated conflict patterns in this region. In this essay, I will try to 

point out, following our presentation, how Lebanon is embedded in the region, in its intricately 

designed pattern of different groups which are concerned in the politics of that country. But how 

can we make sense of the conflicts, structures and occurrences? According to Bahgat Korany, it is 

either hard to follow F. Fukuyama who has detected the 'End of History' by saying 

„What we may be witnessing is not just the end of the Cold War, or the passing of a particular 

period of postwar history, but the end of history as such: that is, the end point of mankind's 

ideological evolution and the universalization of Western liberal democracy as the final form of 

human government“ (cp. Fukuyama 1989 1 ). 

or difficult to understand the developments in the Middle East with S. Huntingtons 'Clash of 

Civilizations' by arguing 

„Nation states will remain the most powerful actors in world affairs but the principal conflicts of 

global politics will occur between nations and groups of different civilizations“ (cp. Huntington 

1993: 22 2 ). 

These hypotheses seem to be a little bit narrow-minded if you try to use them for making sense of 

countries in the Middle East. This can be emphasized by looking at the situation in the Lebanon: On 

the one hand, obviously, it is hard to speak of an 'universalization of Western liberal democracy' in a 

country where the boycott of elections, constant fights in the streets between militant groups and the 

police as well as stagnation of political reforms due to a missing capacity to act by the parliament 

are on the daily agenda (cp. Cammett 2009 3 ). On the other hand, it is also hard to speak about a 

clash of civilizations in Lebanon. Of course, one main conflict takes place between Israel and 

Hizbullah and you may assume that these are two different societies. But how would you explain 

that the army of Lebanon fought in the civil war against Hizbullah and other militant groups? Why 

took a clash within one civilization place in Lebanon? 

1 Francis Fukuyamas essay The End of History? was published 1989 in: 'The National Interest'. You may find it on: 

http://www.wesjones.com/eoh.htm (last request: 29 th October 2010). 

2 Samuel Huntingtons essay The Clash of Civilizations? was first published in: Foreign Affairs, Volume 72, Number 

3, Summer 1993, pp. 22-49. 

3 Cammet, Melani (2009): Democracy, Lebanese-Style. Available under: 

http://www.merip.org/mero/mero081809.html (last request: 29 th October 2010). 

1



Theoretical Background 

Especially Lebanon can be outlined as a diversified country. This is why I try to follow Bahgat 

Korany with his concept of intermestics (cp. Korany 2009: 63f. 4 ). According to Korany, the best 

conceptual lens in researching the Middle East is the focus on the international and the domestic 

context in a country and – most importantly – its interdependence. After a short introduction on the 

disunion in Lebanon, I will try to emphasize the relations to three other countries: Syria, Iran and 

Israel. They had and still have a big influence on the structures and events on the domestic level in 

Lebanon which stresses this relation. Take for instance the civil war in the 1970s and 1980s, the 

foundation of Hizbullah or the 2006-war between Israel and Lebanon. As I have already mentioned 

above, it is important to examine the connection between the international influence on Lebanon 

and the domestic occurences because '[i]n the globalization era, MENA's [Middle East and 

Northern Africa] international relations can no longer be separated from regime type and the 

society's good governance.“ (Korany 2009 5 ). In my conclusion, I will highlight the importance of 

the Arab-Israeli conflict for Lebanon. Peace will not occur as long this conflict shapes the ideas 

between the Arab and the Israeli world. 

Disunion of Lebanon as a base for all further developments 

Lebanon was one out of many countries where the imperial forces of France and Great Britian had a 

big interest in the aftermath of the First World War. The former land of the Ottoman Empire had 

been divided and many new states emerged (cp. Rogan 2009 6 ). Lebanon was highly influenced by 

France which had been trying to build up a Christian state in the region in competition to the 

emergence of a Jewish state in Palestine. This is, I guess, one of the most important basics 

everybody has to bear in mind in order to understand any recent development in Lebanon. 

Moreover, it is part of the MENA-countries, thus, the influence by many Islamic groups in this 

country is very important. Following the independence after World War II, a very special political 

order emerged in Lebanon based on the ethno-religious groups in this country (the two biggest 

groups where the Christians and the Muslims divided in many subgroups). For a period of about 20 

years, the country can be characterized as very stable towards its neighbours. But with the 

upcoming of the PLO in Lebanon, it has become a part of the Arab-Israeli conflict in general and 

4 Korany, Bahgat (2009): The Middle East Since the Cold War: Still Insecure, in: Fawcett, Louise (ed.): International 

Relations of the Middle East, Oxford University Press, pp. 61-78. 

5 ibd.: 77. 

6 Rogan, Eugene L. (2009): The Emergence of the Middle East into the Modern State System, in: Fawcett, Louise 

(ed.): International Relations of the Middle East, Oxford University Press, pp. 21-43. 

2



the Israeli-Palestinian conflicht in particular. Related to that, the foundation of Hizbullah can be 

marked as a turning point in the history of Lebanon. It was stricken with a violent civil war which 

had been occurring between 1975 and 1990. The Taif Agreement tried to solve this conflict by 

separating Lebanon more and more between the different gourps but until today we can not find 

stable structures. I will, furthermore, try to emphasize the developments in this country by means of 

its relations to three important actors in the Arab-Israeli conflict: Syria, Iran and Israel. 

Relations to Syria, Iran and Israel 

Lebanon has been finding itself in a very complicated situation for about 30 years now. In the last 

paragraph, I have mentioned the foundation of Hizbullah as the turning point in the history of the 

country. This non-state actor can be called as a good exemple for the introduced theoretical 

framework. As a domestic actor, Hizbullah has been influencing Lebanese politics since its 

foundation to a high extent. But this actor could not exist without its close relations to Syria and 

Iran, exploiting Hizbullah for their hostility towards Israel. Hence, we may find an interaction 

between the international and domestic level. But how may these certain connections be further 

characterised? 

The resistance towards the invasion of Israel in 1982 can be detected as a reason for the foundation 

of the militant, by many western scholars called „terrorist“, organization (cp. Davis 2007: 30 7 ). This 

„raison d'être“, as Davis puts it, has never changed since then. However, the self-image by 

Hizbullah has changed more and more in the past years. I will return to that later in my conclusion 

because this is a very crucial point for the further developments in Lebanon. Syria and Iran backed 

the foundation of Hizbullah with financial aids but it is important to mention that both countries had 

– besides the enmity towards Israel – other claims in Lebanon which made the situation even far 

more complicated. Due to the common history, Syria has had a special relation towards Lebanon, 

consequently, they had never acknowledged Lebanon as a sovereign country until 2008/2009. In 

this context, I have to highlight the assassination of the former prime minister Rafiq al-Harari in 

2005. Syria was suspected that they took part in the assassination. Following this events, Syria had 

to withdraw their troops after over 25 years from the lebanese country (cp. Smith 2010: 377 8 ). The 

assassination of al-Hariri has changed the relations between both countries and it is almost 

7 Davis, Peita (2007): Filling the Void: Hizbullah’s State Building in Lebanon, University of Sydney, Australia, pp. 

30-39. You may find this thesis on: http://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/bitstream/2123/2163/1/Peita20Davis.pdf (last 

request: 3 rd November 2010). 

8 Smith, Charles D. (2010): Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict, Boston – New York, Bedford/St. Martins. 

3



impossible to evalute the importance of this twist to the right extent. Iran, therefore, has always 

tried to export its „Islamic Revolution“ into the other Arab countries. Thus, they started to support 

Shia groups (e.g. Hizbullah) in order to, first, increase their influence in this country and, second, 

have an ally against Israel. 

All power relations, ideologies, interests within Lebanon seem to rise and fall with the Arab-Israeli 

conflict. That is why I need to mention Israel and its relations to Lebanon to unterstand the countrys 

division. Israel has been distinguishing oneself by fighting against the terrorist forces in South 

Lebanon who have been a remarkable threat to Israeli civilians. After the World War II, Israel and 

Lebanon were not very hostile towards each other. After the PLO had withdrawn from Lebanon, 

Hizbullah took their place to threat Israel. Since then, the relations between Lebanon and Israel 

have been determined by the role of Hizbullah. Most remarkably were the two wars between the 

countries in the beginning of the 1980s and in 2006. I want to examine the second one a little bit 

more in detail in the following paragraph because it shows that the Arab-Israeli conflict is far from 

being solved in the 21 st century and, furthermore, it discloses that Israel even starts a war against 

another country in order to release two hostages. But this was only the official reason. 

Actually, it is not sure whether the war in 2006 between Lebanon and Israel started because two 

soldiers were kidnapped by Hizbullah (cp. Alagha 2008: 2f. 9 ). Alagha argues that Israel might had 

prepared an attack and they were just looking for a reason to start it. Whether this is true or not, is 

not part of my discussion. Important to state at this point is the potential threat by southern lebanese 

militant groups for the people in northern Israel. The sanguinary war between Lebanon and Israel 

lasted 34 days until the UN tried to solve the problem with the UN-Resolution 1701 including the 

disarmament of Hizbullah (cp. Eden-Fleig 2007: 6 10 ). Although, Israeli troops withdrew from 

Lebanon, the tensions have never stopped in this area. In August 2010 fights took place at the 

boarder between the two countries and 4 people were killed (cp. Spiegel 2010 11 ), the Iranian 

President Mahmoud Ahmadinedjad visited Lebanon in October 2010 which was a clearly offense 

towards Israel. These recent developments, and I picked out just a few (even not mentioning the 

importance of the „UN al-Hariri-Tribunal“ and its effects on the lebanese domestic peace), show 

9 Alagha, Joseph (2007): The Israeli – Hizbullah 34-Day War: Causes and Consequences, in: Arab Studies Quarterly, 

Volume 30, number 2, Spring 2008. You may find this article on: http://www.thefreelibrary.com/The+Israeli- 

Hizbullah+34-day+war%3A+causes+and+consequences-a0185487490 (last request: 3 rd November 2010). 

10 Eden-Fleig, Wiebke (2007): Libanon: Politische Krise ohne ende, in: German Institute of Global and Area Studies, 

Nummer 8. This article can be found on: http://www.giga-hamburg.de/dl/download.php? 

d=/content/publikationen/pdf/gf_nahost_0708.pdf (last request on: 6 th November 2010). 

11 Compare this article about recent fights at the Southern Lebanese boarder: 

http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/0,1518,709908,00.html (last request on: 3 rd November 2010). 

4



that this country is far away from being a stable democracy, free of constant exertion of influences 

on the stability of the state. 

Conclusion 

Due to efforts to create an imperial base as a response to the involvement of Great Britain in 

Palestine, Lebanon has become a highly diversified country with many different ethno – religious 

groups. In the past 60 years this division has been more and more institutionalized in a special 

political system. Because of this particular feature, Lebanon was likely to become a playground for 

many interest groups and states. Syria's and Iran's intentions have been, therefore, opposed to the 

Israel's position to a great extent. 

It has to be stated that the country can not be characterized as a stable and resistant democracy so 

far. After the end of the 2006-war between Israel and Lebanon, more and more domestic problems 

have just occurred. Hizbullah, though a militant organization for nearly 25 years, has tried to 

integrate more and more in the political system. They became part of the parliament and have tried 

to influence domestic politics not only via suicide attacks but also via parliamentary work. 

Although, they have not forgotten where they come from. In December 2006, Hizbullah „took the 

streets in downtown Beirut (...), they demanded [for] the formation of a national unity Cabinet“ 

(Alagha 2008: 11). Although the lebanese army has tried to control southern Lebanon more and 

more for four years now, the influence by Hizbullah has not been decreasing to the extent that Israel 

feels safe. 

All in all, despite the very complex structure of this country, three conflict levels will be essential 

for the future and peace of Lebanon: Firstly, the self-image of Hizbullah and subsequently the fights 

between Hizbullah and the government as well as the implementation of the UN – Resolution 1701. 

Will Hizbullah integrate in the political system and will they try to transform into a state-actor or 

will they keep their militant character? In fact, this organisation has started to change but this 

integration is not completed yet. Finally, how will the role of Israel, Syria, Iran and the USA 

develop? These questions are very hard to answer right now but what I have tried to show in my 

essay is the following: As long as the Arab-Israeli conflict has not been solved, it seems as a 

mistake to assume that the conflicts in Lebanon could be straightened out and peace could be 

implemented in this country. With the emphasis on the international and domestic context, it seems 

possible to understand the complex structure of such a diversified country, though it is not easy to 

find a starting point. 

5



Bibliography 

Alagha, Joseph (2007): The Israeli – Hizbullah 34-Day War: Causes and Consequences, in: 

Arab Studies Quarterly, Volume 30, number 2, Spring 2008. Available under: 

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/The+Israeli-Hizbullah+34-day+war 

%3A+causes+and+consequences-a0185487490 (last request: 3 rd November 2010). 

Cammet, Melani (2009): Democracy, Lebanese-Style. Available under: 

http://www.merip.org/mero mero081809.html (last request: 29 th October 2010). 

Eden-Fleig, Wiebke (2007): Libanon: Politische Krise ohne Ende, in: German Institute of 

Global and Area Studies, Nummer 8. This article can be found on: http://www.gigahamburg.de/dl/download.php?d=/content/publikationen/pdf/gf_nahost_0708.pdf 

(last request on: 6 th 

November 2010). 

Fukuyama, Francis (1989): The End of History?, in: The National Interest. Available under: 

http://www.wesjones.com/eoh.htm (last request: 29 th October 2010). 

Huntington, Samuel (1993): The Clash of Civilizations?, in: Foreign Affairs, Volume 72, 

Number 3, Summer 1993, pp. 22-49. 

Korany, Bahgat (2009): The Middle East Since the Cold War: Still Insecure, in: Fawcett, 

Louise (ed.): International Relations of the Middle East, Oxford University Press, pp. 61-78. 

Davis, Peita (2007): Filling the Void: Hizbullah’s State Building in Lebanon, University of 

Sydney, Australia, pp. 30-39. Available under: http://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/bitstream/2123/2163/1/ 

Peita20Davis.pdf (last request: 3 rd November 2010). 

Rogan, Eugene L. (2009): The Emergence of the Middle East into the Modern State System, 

in: Fawcett, Louise (ed.): International Relations of the Middle East, Oxford University Press, pp. 

21-43. 

Smith, Charles D. (2010): Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict, Boston – New York, 

Bedford/St. Martins. 

6

Introduction Shall I be honest? I am from Europe. I was born in ...

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?