Topic > Reforming a “Greater Lebanon” - 1832

The roots of Lebanon's political history are deep, “it is the product of at least two centuries of continuous political change; a process of assimilation of new groups marks its unique experience in the Middle East” (Harik 1972). The constant change, the political turbulence, the dispersed groups, have contributed to changing the future of Lebanon: with a return to the root of the problems, there is always a hope for reform. To respond to the fundamental problems, it is necessary to observe, weigh and consume these obstacles over time across generations, and draw reforms from them. The roots of the Lebanese multi-party system date back to the early 1920s, following the First World War and the League of Nations decision to give France a mandate over Lebanon. After France occupied and declared the founding of Greater Lebanon in 1920, its influence on the Lebanese Constitution, which was largely inspired by the French Third Republic, strengthened the notion of a unicameral parliament with a Chamber of Deputies, a President and a Council of Deputies. Ministers or cabinet. With the aim of achieving independence and national unity, the Lebanese Republic, born from the redrawing of state borders in the heterogeneous populations of Lebanon, sought to outline a Western parliamentary system (Harik 1972). These populations consisted of growing Maronite Christians, Muslims, Greek Orthodox, Melkites, and Druze. The Maronite Christians were supporters of the French by tradition and welcomed this new power and influence, for the support of their majority. Over the next twenty years, as pre-war Lebanon expanded into Greater Lebanon, the population would see a change in the balance between Christians and Muslims, as well as in the balance or power between France and Lebanon. paper ....... 1999. “The 1932 Lebanese Census Revisited. Who are the Lebanese?” British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies 26 (2) (1 November): 219-241. http://www.jstor.org/stable/195924.Norton, Augustus Richard. 2007. “Hezbollah's Role in Lebanese Domestic Politics.” The International Spectator 42 (4) (December): 475-491. doi:10.1080/03932720701722852. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03932720701722852.Sensenig-Dabbous, Dr. Eugene. 2009. The Lebanese political party system. The Lebanese political party system. October 18th. http://mepei.com/in-focus/346-the-lebanese-political-party-system.Sereghy, Zsolt. 2010. Sectarian differences in Lebanese history textbook narratives. University of Vienna. http://othes.univie.ac.at/10746/.Zamir, Meir. 2000. Lebanon's Quest: The Road to Statehood, 1926-1939. Pbk. and. London;;New York: IB Tauris.