Structures of politics and government in Lebanon - Essay Example

? Lebanon Table of Contents I. Introduction 3 II. Discussion 5 A. Kind of Government 5 B. How Government is Structured 5 C. Political Culture of Lebanon 6 D. Countries with Similar Political Systems 7 E. Key Political Parties, Philosophies and Issues 7 F. People in Power 8 G. Recent Election- Results, Successful Parties, Key Issues 8 H. Historical, Current Key Political Challenges 9 I. 2-3 Key Public Policy Issues, How They are Addressed 9 J. Areas of Excellence, Improvement 10 III. Recommendations for Improvement of Conditions in Lebanon 11 Works Cited 12 I. Introduction This paper details an overview of the structures of politics and government in Lebanon. France, having gotten hold of the territory which is made up of the northern part of the province of Syria from the old empire of the Ottomans, elevated the this territory into a sovereign state in 1943, having first carved out the boundaries of what would become the Lebanese state in 1920. Since that time, the history of the country has been observed to have been marked by successive periods of internecine strife as well as relative peace and prosperity, with the country leveraging its premier position in the region in the arena of finance trade and finance. It shares geographic boundaries with Syria and Israel, and has been locked in contrasting relationships with both, with Syria being a dominant influence in the politics and governance structures of Lebanon since the 1970’s at least, and with Israel being the focal point of strife for the country having been involved in sporadic conflicts with certain Israeli groups, culminating in a short war in 2006. Syria, on the other hand, had a long stay as a military occupier of Lebanon that stretched from 1976 all the way to 2005, with its grip on many of the forces that control Lebanese politics and government continuing even way after the cessation of the occupation. A long civil war stretching from 1975 to 1990 left deep political scars, with sectarian groups coming to dominate the lines of division among the different political groups and ensuring that political struggles are protracted, bitter and fraught with disunity and the lack of political goodwill among the competing political sects (Central Intelligence Agency). The end of the civil war in 1991, in particular, marked the beginning of another period of relative peace that would end with the war with Israel in 2005, confirming the observation of Lebanon’s pattern of 15 years of transition from peace to war to peace and war again, in timed intervals (Haughbolle 2-3; Hilal). By way of an overview, the Republic of Lebanon has its capital in Beirut and officially marks its day of independence as a state on November 22, 1943. The Lebanese Constitution was ratified on May 22, 1926, and has undergone three changes, with the last of the amendments coming in in 1990, relating to required changes from the 1989 Talif Accord. Three religious threads, Jewish, Christian and Muslim sway laws relating to social and personal relations, even as influences from the Old Ottoman legal system and French law also dominate the system of laws in the country. 21 years is the age when Lebanese men acquire the right to vote, and for women the same age applies, but with restrictions to voting being only allowed women who have primary education. The current head of state, Michel Sulayman, has been president since 2008. The entire cabinet of Najib Miqati, together with Prime Minister Miqati himself, relinquished their posts on March 22, 2013, leaving the government in the hands of a caretaker group headed by the President, until the country is able to replace the resigned Prime Minister. The country is divided into six administrative regions, with Beirut or Beyrouth being the most prominent as a political and economic center of the country. Under the Lebanese political system, the president holds office for six years, and chooses the prime minister in partnership with Lebanese Congress called the National Assembly, which acts in a consultative manner in matter relating to the President’s selection of the country’s prime minister (Central Intelligence Agency; MacQueen). The National Assembly meanwhile consists of one chamber with 128 seats. The members of this assembly are elected into office and have four-year terms. The seats are designed so that sects from different parts of the country are represented in proportion to their numbers. The last elections were held in 2009, with the next elections for the seats slated for 2013. Three major political groupings are the March 8 Coalition, which won 55 percent of the seats, the March 4 coalition which won 45 percent of the seats, and the minority Independents (Central Intelligence Agency; Neal and Tansey; Zahar). II. Discussion A. Kind of Government The government is a republic, with one chamber of representatives called the National Assembly being the legislative body. The members of the National Assembly are voted into power every four years, and a total of 128 seats are up for grabs, representing the different sects in the country. The seats allocations are tied to the proportional representation of the different sects in the population. Meanwhile, a President is also elected into office once every six years. The president, in partnership with the National Assembly, chooses the Prime Minister. The same goes for the deputy prime minister, who is likewise appointed by the President under the same consultative process with the National Assembly. The prime minister then chooses the members of his cabinet, but those members have to be vetted and approved by the President as well as by the National Assembly, in a similar consultative process (Central Intelligence Agency; Zahar; Neal and Tansey). B. How Government is Structured The legislative and executive branches of government are intertwined in the way the former chooses its members, and in the way the process for the selection of the prime minister takes into consideration the inputs of the legislative branch. Both the president and the seats in the National Assembly are won via elections, but the cabinet, prime minister and deputy prime minister posts are determined by appointment of the President and consultation with the National Assembly. The prime minister appoints the members of Cabinet. The third branch of government, the judiciary, is headed by the Supreme Court., with the Supreme Court justices appointments being determined by a council whose members include five members of the National Assembly, as well as the chief justice of the Supreme Court. Lower courts include the Court of First Instance and the Court of Appeals (Central Intelligence Agency; Zahar; Neal and Tansey). C. Political Culture of Lebanon There are very entrenched divisions based on sects in Lebanon that, according to this journal article, prevents Lebanon from getting consensus actions towards the advancement of democratic ideals and democratic systems of power establishment. The word to describe the state of political affairs in Lebanon is fragmentation. This fragmentation too is what makes Lebanon relatively immune from the influences of the uprisings and democratic movements that have swept through a large number of countries in the Arab world. The fragmentation too means that there is no entrenched and solid political power that the Lebanese can go up against, thwarting any chance of an Arab democratic uprising similar to the one that swept through Egypt from gaining any solid foothold in Lebanon. Experiences where some factions tried and failed to instigate such uprisings prove these assertions, according to some camps. Few parties dream consequently of using the uprisings to bring about lasting political change (Khashan). MacQueen looks at various new approaches to resolving conflicts in various parts of the Middle East, and makes some deep observations about the political culture in Lebanon. In the case of Lebanon, the author makes the point that left to its own cultural devices, culture has served to deepen the roots of conflict rather than help diffuse and end that conflict. The result of factionalism and sectarian conflicts is the deepening of divides along those sects and factions, and this cultural reality is partly responsible for the perpetuation of conflicts and the prolonging of the decades-old civil war in recent history in the country (MacQueen). D. Countries with Similar Political Systems The country has a unicameral legislative body, and in this sense it shares similar systems of politics with countries that are small and have similar unitary governance systems, such as Israel, New Zealand, Malta, Sweden, Finland and Denmark (Encyclopaedia Britannica). The United Nations notes that the unicameral system has evolved to be the choice of political system for small countries, and have been observed to be the preferred mode of structuring the political systems in countries such as Costa Rica, Uganda, Slovenia, Portugal, Iceland and Hungary (UNDP). E. Key Political Parties, Philosophies and Issues As discussed in the introduction, there are basically two political groupings in the country, known as the March 8 coalition and the March 4 coalition. Those political groupings in turn are made out of political groups that are aligned with the different sects in the country. It is noteworthy that the political groupings reflect the factionalized and diverse sectarian roots of the different political parties. The following are the key political factions under the March 14 Coalition (Central Intelligence Agency; Haughbolle; Hilal; Reiche): Democratic Left [Ilyas ATALLAH] Democratic Renewal Movement [Nassib LAHUD] Future Movement Bloc [Sa'ad al-HARIRI] Kataeb Party [Amine GEMAYEL] Lebanese Forces [Samir JA'JA] Tripoli Independent Bloc (Central Intelligence Agency) THE following political groups meanwhile are aligned with the March 8 Coalition (Central Intelligence Agency): Development and Resistance Bloc [Nabih BERRI, leader of Amal Movement] Free Patriotic Movement [Michel AWN] Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc [Mohammad RA'AD] (includes Hizballah [Hassan NASRALLAH]) Nasserite Popular Movement [Usama SAAD] Popular Bloc [Elias SKAFF] Syrian Ba'th Party [Sayez SHUKR] Syrian Social Nationalist Party [Ali QANSO] Tashnaq [Hovig MEKHITIRIAN] (Central Intelligence Agency) As discussed, the political issues and philosophies are aligned and formed along sectarian lines, with the sects being diffuse and being basically at odds with each other, making alliances and consensus difficult. The grip on power of Syria continues to influence the practice of politics in the country, and further prevents the creation of consensus agendas. The relatively large number of political factions under each of the March 8 and March 14 coalitions testify to the factious nature of politics and the many issues along sectarian lines that continue to divide the country along those lines (Central Intelligence Agency; Haughbolle; Hilal; Reiche) F. People in Power The current head of state, Michel Sulayman, has been president since 2008. The entire cabinet of Najib Miqati, together with Prime Minister Miqati himself, relinquished their posts on March 22, 2013, leaving the government in the hands of a caretaker group headed by the President, until the country is able to replace the resigned Prime Minister (Central Intelligence Agency) G. Recent Election- Results, Successful Parties, Key Issues Michel Sulayman was elected President in 2008, with the next elections to be held in 2014. The results of the National Assembly elections were that 118 out of the 128 seats were filled, while three seats were deemed invalid and 6 seats were unfilled due to abstentions. One seat was left vacant by the death of the incumbent member (Central Intelligence Agency). The last elections for the National Assembly were held in 2009, with the next elections for the seats slated for 2013. Three major political groupings are the March 8 Coalition, which won 55 percent of the seats, the March 4 coalition which won 45 percent of the seats, and the minority Independents (Central Intelligence Agency; Neal and Tansey; Zahar). H. Historical, Current Key Political Challenges Historical political challenges include that the civil wars and various internal conflicts that mark the history of the country have left the political system with deep scars along sectarian lines, which in the end prevent the different sectarian parties from being able to work together without rancor and without the pains of the past interfering. The result is a general lack of consensus in a deep and lasting sense in many of the pressing issues that face Lebanon. Moreover, the long influence of Syria brought about by its meddling in political affairs and its long occupation of Lebanon means that Syria has traditionally presented its own sets of issues that constitute real political concerns for those who are seeking to run for public office or those who are able to be elected into the seats of power in the country. These are large and persistent issues that are tied to the conflict-riddled past of Lebanon and continue to present themselves in the current political landscape (Central Intelligence Agency; Haughbolle; Hilal; Reiche). I. 2-3 Key Public Policy Issues, How They are Addressed There are many issues related to the crafting and implementation of public policy in Lebanon, and those are the very same issues that germinate other issues tied to improving governance and properly managing its oil and gas reserves, among other things that greatly impact Lebanon’s current and future economic and political fates. Those issues relate to the absence of the government to make credible public policy; the high churn/turnover of the key leaders in government, specifically in the posts of the cabinet and the prime and deputy prime ministers; and the lack of adequate inputs from various sectors of society in the crafting of the public policies, which in the end limit their effectiveness. There are few avenues for improving these systemic and persistent problems in public policy, not to mention that those crippling weaknesses translate to an inability to properly chart the future of the country. For instance, the weaknesses in these areas of public policy translate to weak public policies on the exploitation of national treasures, such as oil and gas. On the other hand there are few measures that are being undertaken to address the issues listed above (Arbid; National Democratic Institute). J. Areas of Excellence, Improvement Areas of excellence include the ability to form coalitions among the political factions in order to create meaningful divisions in politics along lines of interests. This is evident in the March 8 and March 14 coalitions being able to amass their own political following from the sect-based political parties in order to come up with some consensus among themselves with regard to political and social issues that confront them. This is arguably a first step in a long process to build consensus on a national level. On the other hand, the divisions along sectarian lines is very deep and very ingrained in the system, and reflects similar deep divides in culture and in the general society and this constitutes the key area where the nation’s political structures can improve, among others. The limited abilities to craft public policy that is credible and comprehensive, and the lack of abilities to implement public policy, are likewise areas for improvement (Central Intelligence Agency; Neal and Tansey; Zahar; Arbid; National Democratic Institute). III. Recommendations for Improvement of Conditions in Lebanon It will take time, but the drive to heal deep political and social divides wrought by decades of internal conflict must continue, so that Lebanon may emerge with a unified political system that is able to build consensus and govern effectively. Internal systems must be stabilized by also weaning itself from Syrian and other foreign influences. The political structure has to mature to a point where there is some stability too in the choosing and governance of the offices of the prime minister and the Cabinet. This is to ensure that the executive branch has the continuity and the power to effectively govern and institute changes (Central Intelligence Agency; Neal and Tansey; Zahar; Arbid; National Democratic Institute). Works Cited Arbid, Jeremy. “Policy-Making in Lebanon: Potential Offshore Oil and Gas Discoveries”. AUB. September 2013. Web. 12 November 2013. Central Intelligence Agency. “Lebanon”. The World FactBook. 2013. Web. 25 October 2013. Encyclopaedia Britannica. “unicameral legislature”. Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2013. Web. 13 November 2013. Haugbolle, Sune. War and Memory in Lebanon. Cambridge University Press and Google Books. 2010. Web. 25 October 2013. Khashan, Hilal. “The View from Syria and Lebanon”. The Middle East Quarterly XVIII (3). Summer 2011. Web. 25 October 2013. MacQueen, Benjamin. Political Culture and Conflict Resolution in the Middle East. Academic Monographs and Google Books. 2009. Web. 25 October 2013. National Democratic Institute. “Lebanon”. NDI. 2013. Web. 12 November 2013. Neal, Mark and Richard Tansey. “The dynamics of effective corrupt leadership: Lessons from Rafik Hariri’s political career in Lebanon”. The Leadership Quarterly 21. 2010. Web. 25 October 2013. Reiche, Daniel. “War Minus the Shooting? The politics of sport in Lebanon as a unique case in comparative politics”. Third World Quarterly 32 (2). 2011. Web. 25 October 2013. < https://fingerprints.aub.edu.lb/fas/pspa/politics-sports/Documents/Third.pdf> UNDP. “Legislative Chambers: Unicameral or Bicameral?” UNDP.org. 2013. Web. 13 November 2013. Zahar, Marie-Joelle. “Pax Syriana: Elite Politics in Postwar Lebanon (Review)”. The Middle East Journal 67 (3). Summer 2013. 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