http://www.mideasti.org/programs/programs_journal_insight.html

A part of The Middle East Journal Resource Series

The Middle East Journal Resource Series offers compilations of Journal articles related to topics of interest in digital format.

Lebanon: Background on the Current Conflict is on sale for $20 and contains articles that can not be found in digital format elsewhere. You may purchase CDs from The Middle East Journal Resource Series at the Middle East Institute's front desk or by contacting Lisa Barr at (202) 785-1141 ext. 200 or members@mideasti.org

Lebanon: Background on the Current Conflict contains the following six Journal articles and provides scholarly and in-depth background to the present situation in Lebanon:

Political Parties in Postwar Lebanon: Parties in Search of Partisans
Farid el Khazen (Autumn 2003)

This article examines the performance of political parties in postwar Lebanon against the benchmark of parties in the prewar period. Parties turned into militias during Lebanon’s fifteen-year war and reverted to their party status with the ending of the war in 1990. In postwar Lebanon parties face several problems partly generated by their inability to recover from wartime practices and partly because of the built-in limitations in the political system inhibiting competitive politics. Some parties are banned; others have access to political and financial rewards and thus have a stake in preserving the status quo. In this sense, parties are performing functions similar to those performed by parties in authoritarian regimes.

Who Owns the Shebaa Farms? Chronicle of a Territorial Dispute
Asher Kaufman (Autumn 2002)

The roots of the border controversy in the Shebaa farmland lie in the clumsy manner France delineated the Syrian-Lebanese boundary during the Mandate years. Since 1920, maps located the area within Syria. However, for all practical matters, the area was considered to be part of Lebanon. French officials themselves noted this anomaly but did nothing to rectify it. For different reasons, Syrian and Lebanese governments perpetuated this anomaly. In 1967, with the Israeli occupation of the Golan Heights, this controversy entered the orbit of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Will Syria Have to Withdraw from Lebanon?
Eric V. Thompson (Winter 2002)

Although Syria’s intervention into Lebanon in 1976 was counter to the norms of international law, Syria’s late President, Hafiz al-Asad, was able to construct a foundation of international legitimacy for the occupation of Lebanese territory by Syrian forces. Despite growing pressure within Lebanon for the withdrawal of Syrian forces, Syria’s current leader, Bashar al-Asad, may be able to parlay this foundation of international legitimacy to extend the occupation for some time to come.

A Practical Line: The Line of Withdrawal from Lebanon and its Potential Applicability to the Golan Heights
Frederic C. Hof (Winter 2001)

This article examines how the United Nations created a “line of withdrawal” to confirm the departure of Israeli forces from Lebanon. The process by which this line – known popularly as the “Blue Line” – came into being was controversial, probably inconsistent with (if not in violation of) the Israeli-Lebanese General Armistice Agreement. Yet the end result may have been the best obtainable given the unhelpful attitudes of Israel, Lebanon and Syria. For all of its apparent shortcomings, the process of drawing the line was pragmatic and flexible. It left Lebanon and Israel with an opportunity to pacify their long-troubled frontier and eventually demarcate their border jointly, either in the context of a peace treaty or a revived armistice. Perhaps a similar approach, taking into account fundamentally different circumstances, can be employed to facilitate the creation of an Israeli-Syrian boundary.

Kawkaba and the South Lebanon Imbroglio: A Personal Recollection, 1977-1978
Richard B. Parker (Autumn 1996)

Informed media commentary on the Israeli attack on Lebanon in the spring of 1996 explained to the reader that the Israelis had been occupying of a strip of South Lebanon since 1978. While Israel’s control over the so-called security zone can be said to have been formalized then, Israel has been exercising hegemony over the area since at least 1976.

Lebanon After Ta’if: Is the Civil War Over?
Augustus Richard Norton (Summer 1991)

This article examines the aftermath of Lebanon’s Civil War and the prospects for peace in Lebanon. At the time the article was written, it seemed that Lebanon had finally turned the corner on its years of bloodshed by beginning the implementation of the Document of National Understanding that sprung from the negotiations in Ta’if. However, the author argued that major issues stood in the way of progress in Lebanon, significantly Syrian involvement in Lebanese politics and the unique situation posed by Hizballah’s presence in the South. He concludes that “freedom and peace for Lebanon will remain hostage to regional conflict,” a statement that is especially telling today.