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Lebanon and Syria’s futures intertwined By Ghassan Michel Rubeiz On October 17, 2019 the Lebanon erupted into a nationwide uprising demanding the dismantling of a corrupt and sectarian political system. Responding to unprecedented street protests, Saad Hariri resigned immediately. A new cabinet was formed by Hassan Diab, an academic with a limited background in public…
Lebanon on a failure track for the near future By Ghassan Michel Rubeiz When I left Lebanon in 1975 I never thought I would stay abroad for the rest of my life. I simply could not imagine that this country would ever reach such a stage of largely self-inflicted decline. The destructive power of politics…
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A new prime minister for Lebanon: a change-agent from campus? By Ghassan Michel Rubeiz On December 19, Lebanese President Michel Aoun named Hassan Diab, the vice president of the American University of Beirut (AUB), to form the next cabinet. Saad Hariri resigned on October 29, twelve days after nationwide street demonstrations erupted. Stability is eroding…
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Regime not listening to the people and future of Lebanon at crossroad The sociopolitical situation in Lebanon deteriorates. A sign of hope is the resilience of the October 17 uprising. Public protest against the government’s corruption is unprecedented. Led by women and young adults, the uprising is authentic, effective and peaceful. The central question is…
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Uprising in Lebanon must focus on domestic reform, not on Hezbollah By Ghassan Michel Rubeiz The uprising is not about Hezbollah’s dominant role in Lebanon, and it should not be; it is largely about corrupt domestic politics. But the attitude of Hezbollah- locally know as The Resistance- toward real reform may either help or derail…
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Promising Lebanese elections may have little impact on nation’s precarious system By Ghassan Michel Rubeiz The sole remarkable “result” of the parliamentary elections in troubled Lebanon is that it did happen- and it was competitive. A country of 4.5 million citizens hosting a million and a half Syrian and Palestinian refugees is nonetheless capable of…
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Hariri shelves his resignation: conditional good news for Lebanon By Ghassan Michel Rubeiz A sigh of relief in Lebanon: On November 22 Prime Minister Saad Hariri put on hold his November 4th resignation in a cabinet which includes Hezbollah Party, in order to negotiate terms for Lebanon’s neutrality in Arab affairs. “Neutrality,” “dissociation” and “self…
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Lebanon turmoil stoked by pro-Iranian extremists The murder of Rafic Hariri weighs heavy over freedom in Lebanon, 12 years later. And the same forces of violence and extremism are seeking to enforce more change through terrorism. Hariri’s son Saad faces threats of violence from Syria, Iran and Hezbollah extremists By Ray Hanania If people want…
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Hariri’s resignation sign of more trouble for Lebanon and the region By Ghassan Michel Rubeiz The resignation of Prime Minister Saad Hariri last week has serious implications for Lebanon, the region, and beyond. Hariri’s withdrawal from political office was shocking in form and substance. The televised resignation speech was delivered in Riyadh, not in Beirut. …
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By Ali Rizk Two recently held meetings, one between Hezbollah’s leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, and the other between Sayyed Nasrallah and the head of the Lebanese Christian Marada movement Suleiman Franjieh, reflect a sense of urgency amid the rising ISIL regional threat. According to Hezbollah officials, Jumblatts talks…
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