Political, Social And Economic Conditions Of Lebanon Essay

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.

As an avid football fan, I enjoy watching the super bowl which is a favorite pastime of millions of Americans. The super bowl is an important piece of culture for our society. Something just as good as the super bowl is the 30-second commercial that costs about 4 million dollars to air. The super bowl is one of the biggest platforms for companies to advertise their product and ideas and that is just what Coca-cola did with their very entertaining and controversial commercial in 2014. Coca-Cola celebrates multiculturalism in their commercial. The Lebanon Daily News defended Coca-Cola an iconic American brand for its stance to air a super bowl commercial where ‘America the Beautiful’ sung in 8 different languages.

The legacies left behind as a result of post-world war 1and 2 has caused tremendous problems that still occur in the twenty-first century. The carving of formal Palestine has fueled issues between ethnicities in the present day states known as: Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Israel. As a result, promises that were made prior to the war, of what lands would be awarded to the negotiating actors had been broken; the Sunni/Shia conflict in the present day, was also the result of Sunni leaders in the in the 1920s. In this paper, you will see how these conflicts have grown over time.

Terrorism within or against the United States is not a new phenomenon. Our history is well documented with thousands of attempts and actual acts of terrorism that happened on U.S. soil. The first act of terrorism can be traced back to 1865 with the assassination of President Lincoln, but the first and boldest foreign terrorist attack occurred in New York City on February 26, 1993. Over 1,000 people were injured and six were killed when a group of Islamic terrorists detonated a rental truck equipped with explosives underneath the World Trade Center. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) later discovered that the explosion at the World Trade Center was a dress rehearsal for the most devastating and deadly terrorist attack to reach our nation,

According to Dr. Bacevich, “The Greater Middle East was to serve—indeed, was even then already serving—as the chosen arena for honing military power into a utensil that would maintain America’s privileged position and, not so incidentally, provide a continuing rationale for the entire apparatus of national security.” However, rather than helping either the Middle East or America, this approach has actually caused a great amount of harm and only creates more dictators, internal strife, and terrorist groups. The interests of the United States and the Islamic World have never aligned and the Middle East is resistant to shaping.

The Islamic terrorist group that I have selected for this discussion is Hezbollah. The reason is that it is one of the best funded, organized and lethal terrorists groups in the world. They have attacked several American facilities in the Middle East, embassies, strategic military points, etc. They have been funded by the government of Iran but they are also supported by other Islamic groups and nations; Hamas, one of the most important political parties in Palestine also supports Hezbollah and considers it its military arm. To the American military bases that surround Iran and that are ready to defend the American interests in the region, Hezbollah represents one of the biggest concerns (Lahoud, 2010). Iran already has a considerable military

Hezbollah is classified as a terrorist organization. Through the use of violence they are seeking “…publicity for their cause, monetary gain, or political gain.” (FEMA pg 1-2) The tactics majority of terrorist organizations choose to use range from the use of “…moving vehicle bombs; stationary vehicle bombs; bombs delivered by persons; or mass shootings…”(FEMA pg.1-2) Identifying the threat purposed by a terrorist organization can be a very hard task, so how should the nation attempt to counter a terrorist attack. The first thing will be to start by preparing the American public so that they can be resilient in the event of an attack. The second thing that could be done is to educate the American public on the potential threat. The third

My initial impressions of the Middle East and Northern Africa are they are desolate, poor, and primarily Muslim. Although I know there is an infrastructure in the cities that is not how I viewed the overall majority of these two countries. The terms political unrest and upheaval, also come to mind. When all you see on the news are war torn areas in these countries, the view you come out with is skewed by what the media introduces you to. Many thoughts also run through ones’ head when you ponder what to expect when you approach these countries about business opportunities. I do not believe I am ethnocentric when it comes to other countries and their culture, albeit I have a perception which is stifled and constricted by those skewed views in which we are shown. I also feel there is only two classes, the haves and have nots, if you will. The “haves” living in the cities with an infrastructure, and the “have nots” living in shacks without any of modern day conveniences.

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

​Lebanon has a rich history composed of many different important dates. First of all, the first settlements of this country were found in 5000 BC, in Byblos. Everything starts out in the classical antiquity by the Phoenician city-states being conquered by Achaemenid Persia under Cyrus the Great. Alexander the Great, the Macedonian ruler, attacked and burned Tyre during his war against Persia, after two centuries of Persian rule. In 322 BCE, he conquered what is now the actual Lebanon and took hold of some of its nearby regions. After the death of the Macedonian ruler, the empire became part of the Seleucid Empire. In the first century, Galilee introduced Christianity to the country. From that point on, it became a major center of Christianity.

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.

In Araby, by James Joyce, the story is told by a young boy who has his heart on a girl. The boy’s name is never mentioned in the story and neither is the girls’. Since the narrator is the young boy, his name is never mentioned. In the story, the girl is only mentioned as Mangan’s sister. The point of view, plot, and setting all help make up this story. The narrator in this story is the young boy and he tells the story through his point of view.

The social contracts of Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau constructed a basis upon which governments have expressed their validity and purpose. This can be observed most prominently in the Western world, due to the development of these social contracts alongside that of governments of Western nations. But the abstract roots of these theories on the foundation of government are applicable to all peoples. The Middle East is of particular interest due to the recent outcries and protests against governments in the region. Looking at these nations and events through the lens of these social contracts is complicated by the historical lack of consent on part of the people, an elementary component in each of the three philosophers ' idealizations of a social contract. Though the arguments of stability and security that Hobbes conceives as a basis for government are much abused through the history of the Middle East, the ideas of Locke and Rousseau shed more light upon much of the political development of the region.

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

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.