The Druze Community and the Lebanese State
The Druze Community and the Lebanese State

Author: Yusri Hazran

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-07-11

Total Pages: 515

ISBN-13: 1317931726

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One of the fundamental questions of Middle Eastern, and Lebanese studies in particular, is the history of the relationship between the Druze community and the state in modern Lebanon. Arguing that the Druze community has been politically alienated from the Lebanese state, this book explores the historical and political origins of this alienation. The Druze Community and the Lebanese State contends that the origins of this alienation lie in the state’s national ideology, its political confessional system, and the Druze’s historical background during the medieval period. Moreover, this book examines the extent to which the Druze’s attitude vis-à-vis the Lebanese state has been influenced by their historical rivalry with the Maronites. Particular emphasis is placed on the political and ideological practices adopted by the Druze leadership and intelligentsia as they dealt with the changes taking place in their community’s political status following the political settlements of 1920 and 1943 (the establishment of Greater Lebanon and the National Pact, respectively). A welcome addition to existing literature on Lebanon, this book will be an essential reference tool for students and researchers with an interest in nationalism, identity and Middle East Politics more broadly.

Electoral Politics in the Middle East
Electoral Politics in the Middle East

Author: Jacob M. Landau

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2015-07-24

Total Pages: 344

ISBN-13: 1317413938

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Comparative political study of the Middle East got off to a late start. Unlike any previous studies in comparative politics, this book, first published in 1980, represents an important methodological advance in that it proceeds by themes rather than by countries, and uniquely focuses on three major aspects of electoral politics in three contemporary Middle Eastern states. The three countries – Turkey, Lebanon and Israel – are chosen because they are the only Middle Eastern countries with a tradition of free elections. On the other hand, they also display certain characteristics found in other, non-competitive Middle Eastern political systems, such as the role and prominence of religion. The study is based on extensive original research and presents the first comparative treatment of electoral issues, voting behaviour and parliamentary elites, emphasising the context of rapid socio-economic change – a theme particularly pertinent to those countries with their tradition of free elections. The variety of political behaviour within the countries concerned, coupled with the prevailing complexities resulting from disparities in language and cultural inheritance, makes the comparative approach particularly revealing. The attitudes and behaviour of the voters can be seen to be at least as important as the laws and mechanisms involved.

Stability and the Lebanese State in the 20th Century
Stability and the Lebanese State in the 20th Century

Author: Tarek Abou Jaoude

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2022-08-25

Total Pages: 249

ISBN-13: 0755644166

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Explaining state-building failures in Lebanon during the 20th century, this book looks at the relationship between legitimacy and stability in the country since the creation of the state in 1920. The presence of legitimacy is considered necessary to any successful state-building endeavour. This book argues that the Lebanese state failed to achieve any meaningful form of legitimacy from its inception in 1920 to its near-collapse during the civil war. However, by analysing different eras of Lebanese history, throughout the different presidential terms, the author challenges the general understanding of stability and governance to show that the absence of legitimacy and society support actually contributed to the persistence of the Lebanese state. More than this, the evidence shows that Lebanese state was at its most stable when it was regarded as illegitimate. The wider, implicit question thus asked in the book revolves around a case where illegitimacy within the state is what ensures its stability and survival. Based on primary sources including national archives and collections, institutional documents, personal memoirs, newspapers and journals, this book provides a rich survey on the development and functioning of Lebanese political institutions.

Elections in Asia and the Pacific
Elections in Asia and the Pacific

Author: Dieter Nohlen

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 771

ISBN-13: 019924958X

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This work continues the series of election data handbooks published by OUP. It presents a compendium of electoral data for all the 62 states in Asia, Australia and Oceania from their independence to the beginning of the 21st century.

Elections in Asia and the Pacific: A Data Handbook
Elections in Asia and the Pacific: A Data Handbook

Author: Dieter Nohlen

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2001-11-15

Total Pages: 774

ISBN-13: 0191530417

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This two-volume work continues the series of election data handbooks published by OUP. It presents a first-ever compendium of electoral data for all the 62 states in Asia, Australia and Oceania from their independence to the present. Following the overall structure of the series, an initial comparative introduction on elections and electoral systems is followed by chapters on each state in the region. Written by knowledgeable and renowned scholars, the contributions examine the evolution of institutional and electoral arrangements, and provide systematic surveys of the up-to-date electoral provisions and their historical development. Exhaustive statistics on national elections and referendums are given in each chapter. Together with the other books of this series, Elections in Asia and the Pacific is a highly reliable resource for historical and cross-national comparisons of elections and electoral systems world-wide. The first volume of Elections in Asia and the Pacific includes a total of 32 independent states situated in the three 'western' regions of the Asian continent: the countries of the Middle East (including Turkey); the post-Soviet states of Central Asia and the Caucasus; and the countries situated in South Asia (including Afghanistan and Myanmar).

Lebanese Political Parties
Lebanese Political Parties

Author: Christian Thuselt

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2021-05-19

Total Pages: 237

ISBN-13: 1000390209

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This book examines Lebanese political parties and their encounters with modernity. Taking three, mainly Christian parties as an example, the book refutes the idea of Middle Eastern parties being backwards or antiquated. By combining historical and anthropological perspectives, it is shown that these parties stand for normativities of modernity. Lebanese, as well as Middle Eastern parties in general, have a rather poor reputation: they are considered family-based, ideologically meaningless, tailored solely to their leadership, and non-modern. Contrastingly, this book claims that the concept of the "real party" corresponds to an encounter with modernity and that these parties, although dysfunctional in parts, are better than their reputation. Most importantly, Lebanese parties are taking the nation-state as their central reference point, as they recognise it as the legitimate form of societal organization. The volume claims that important constituents of modernity, such as the individual, the nation, secularity, progress, and representing the people (demos), serve for the parties in question as resources of utopian elements informing much of these parties’ identities. Bringing Lebanese political parties into a global debate on modernity, the book tackles the notion of parties of the Middle East being non-modern. It will be of interest to scholars researching political science, political history and the Middle East.