Lebanon’s Second Republic Prospects for the Twenty-First Century by Kail C. Ellis, ed. (Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida, 2002. 236 pages.)

Abstract

It has now been over a decade since Lebanon’s long civil war ended.
Indeed, the new constitutional structures that emerged from the war –
Lebanon’s second republic – will soon have a longer life than the war
itself. This book examines both the depth and sustainability of Lebanon’s
new-found stability and brings together both academics specializing in
contemporary Lebanese affairs as well as several Lebanese professionals.
It is divided into three sections: Lebanon’s future in the context of the
Middle East peace process, questions of sectarianism and identity within
Lebanon, and selected questions relating to social justice and economic
performance in the postwar world. The book is also flanked by an introduction
and an epilogue written by Ellis.
The volume first examines the regional and global contexts in which
Lebanon finds itself. Modern Lebanon has always been vulnerable to
external interference in its affairs. Hafeez Malik argues that in the nineteenth
century, it was the competition between the great powers that led to ...