Essay about Lebanon and Globalization

Syria and Lebanon are two dramatically different states with a deeply intertwined history. They were both born out of French interventionism following World War 1, and have experienced complex and strained relations ever since. The two nations have both experienced prodigious political turmoil since gaining their independence, with both suffering from civil wars and conflict with their mutual neighbor, Israel. The war and turmoil that has plagued these two countries can be traced back to various competing national interests, as well as a struggle for regional power. The various religious groups in the area have historically formed transnational advocacy networks with the intent of influencing regional politics. These groups have proved to of been a major factor in the history of both nations.

Something strange happens to me whenever I fly into Beirut airport, which I have done several times in the past twenty years. My heart beats faster and I get butterflies in my stomach. I begin to recall Lebanon’s history and the horrific events that took place. Lebanon, a country that has suffered from civil wars as well as invasional wars, continues to overcome and recover from all the past scars left behind. One particular war in which Beirut and several other cities were affected is the 1982 war with Israel, also known as Operation Peace for Galilee. This war has been of interest to me since I was young because my mother would not stop talking about it every now and then. She describes her startled feelings as a young girl experiencing a violent and disastrous war.

In 1958, Muslims and Christians were not getting along in Lebanon. Lebanon had tensions with Egypt because Christian President Camille Chamoun did not sever ties with the Western countries that attacked Egypt during the Suez Crisis. Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser did not like this. These tensions were also increased more because the Lebanon President liked the Baghdad Pact. The Egyptian President did not like this pact because he thought it went against Arabian nationalism. Egypt and Syria decided to make the United Arabian Republic after this, and Lebanese Muslims pushed their government to join them.The Christians in Lebanon wanted to stay close to the Westerners who attacked during the Suez Crisis. Internal instability when Muslims

The C.A.R is undergoing a civil conflict since of 2012, thousands of people have been killed during the massacre. Battles between Christians and Muslims were common. Out of the population of 4.4 million at the time, 600,000 citizens were internally displaced and half a million fled for a chance of a better life. The scale and intensity of food security is unprecedented, an estimated number of 2.5 million are being affected by the crisis which is more than half the country’s population and double as many people since September 2014.

Before the Iranian revolution, Hezbollah had only begun to form but had not yet occupied a large presence in Lebanon. The formation of Hezbollah began with Israel and King Hussein’s joint effort to kick the PLO out

When Hafez al-Assad passed away from a heart attack, hope for Syria arose with promises of reform. On June 10th, 2000, Hafez passed away leaving his son Bashar al-Assad with the power over Syria. Bashar attempted to gain support over his people with promises of reform throughout Syria, including a revolutionized economy. People soon began to protest because Bashar had not been following through with his promises. These protests arose and Bashar chose to fight his people rather than meet their demands. Conflict has risen in Syria because of poor political and geographical systems whether this be through the way Assad governs, or through the destruction of Syria.

The year of Al-Nakba 1948 was a critical year that affected the life of millions of Palestinians. In this year, Palestinians were forced to immigrate to neighboring countries. Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria contain a major number of Palestinian refugees; with the number of Palestinians in Lebanon doubling because the war in Syria drove them there (Alwani, 2015). However, other Palestinians were able to migrate into European countries, while others went to Arab gulf countries. Furthermore, unless the Palestinians got the nationality of the country they live in they do not have but foreign civilian rights. Palestinian refugees who live in Lebanon for more than 10 years should be granted the Lebanese nationality to overcome the

This hatred for Israel was compounded by Israel's occupation of part of Lebanon. The removal of foreigners from Lebanese soil was considered a just cause and this ideological mission earned Hezbollah the support of many of the citizens of Lebanon and the rest of the Arab world.

The Middle East has been characterized by a long chain of human migration ever since humans made their way into the region. Over the centuries, an area near the center of the Middle East that makes up the modern state of Iraq has experienced this constant flow of individuals from all over the region, many of who came for the fertile regions near the Tigris and Euphrates rivers along the Fertile Crescent. Fast forward to today and little has changed. In the wake of conflict such as the rise of the Islamic State, more people are facing displacement or being forced to migrate. A popular way to measure how people have migrated is through the amount of urbanization experienced in a country. In the wake of conflict starting near the end of the

In this day and age, we find ourselves at odds with our “identity” as we find that not only are we representing ourselves, but we also have ties to religion, sect, tribe, and family (Angrist). This shows that despite the cohesiveness and threads that attach us, it has the power to pull people, families, and in some cases countries apart. This conflict comes to a head when religion and ethnicity are interwoven. Hence when divisions occur, this can lead to violent wars that destroy trust between individuals. This can ingrain a sense of uneasiness and distrust that plagues people’s ideas and leaves a country divided. This is particularly evident in Lebanon. Ethnic and religious division led to the festering of feelings of marginalization and discrimination, which boiled over into the Lebanese civil war, a war that claimed the lives of 150,000 people (Szekely). The anger and frustration birthed from this to chaos, and conflict has in turn increased the division between ethnic and religious factions and led to the crumbling of Lebanese nationalism. This essay is specifically aimed at assessing the relationships between ethnic and religious divisions in Lebanon and explores how it contributed to the civil war. This is done by identifying and analyzing the main actors and makes an explanation of the historical divisions stemming from the National Pact, branching out to include the consequences of the civil war on the political structures and the identities of the

Syriana is a movie revolving around the many facets of US – Middle East relations. The movie is split into various plot lines to identify roots of Islamic Militancy and Terrorism in the Middle East, prospects of democracy and full self-determination and the varying effects of current US policy.

Israel gained independence in 1948, and its vibrant democracy remains unique in the region. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, reelected in March 2015, leads a coalition government of right-leaning and religious parties. Israel has a modern market economy with a thriving high-technology sector that attracts considerable foreign investment. The recent discovery of large offshore natural gas deposits has improved both its energy security and its balance-of-payments prospects. Despite the 2006 war against Hezbollah in Lebanon and the 2008–2009, 2012, and 2014 wars against Hamas in Gaza, as well as the constant threat of terrorism, Israel’s economy is fundamentally sound and dynamic

and trade for thousands of years. It has also been on the route of numerous

Through reading the case: “Globalization and the Middle East” in John S. Hill’s book, International Business: Managing globalization, PP.124 to 132. Have had a further understanding of the political and religious culture of the Middle East countries, and have had a research for the following questions also written down my own opinions.

Due to civil war, Lebanon’s economy was highly affected, for instance central government institutions disintegrated. Therefore the estate was handicapped, and accumulated several debts, for example by 2001 Lebanon had reached $28 billion, or nearly 150% of GDP.