Policy Analysis

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  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonDemocracy and Governance

    Politics, Geopolitical Conditions Pushing Lebanon into a Death Spiral

    Dec 22, 2021Imad K. Harb

    Conditions in Lebanon today betray a slide toward the total failure of state institutions amid a precipitous downturn of the country’s economic and social indi…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonIdentity Politics and Sectarianization

    Saudi Arabia’s Third “Shock and Awe” Move in Lebanon

    Nov 9, 2021Joe Macaron

    On October 29th, Riyadh cut diplomatic ties with Beirut and suspended Lebanon’s imports into Saudi Arabia. These actions were aimed to force the resignation of…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonIdentity Politics and Sectarianization

    Beirut Port Explosion: The Investigation That Will Shape Lebanon’s Future

    Oct 27, 2021Halim Shebaya

    For a country that is notorious for both a legacy of violence and a culture of impunity surrounding that violence, it is no surprise that the ongoing investiga…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonDemocracy and Governance

    Foreign Influence in Lebanon and the Third Miqati Premiership

    Oct 13, 2021Joe Macaron

    For the third time in 16 years, Prime Minister Najib Miqati comes to office as a consensus candidate in a country with deep divisions within the Lebanese polit…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonEnergy and Economics

    The Conflicted Role of Lebanon’s Central Bank

    Oct 12, 2021Sabine Kik

    Over the past few decades, public debt, sectarian nepotism, and fixed exchange rates have been three significant challenges to the Lebanese economy; albeit the…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonEnergy and Economics

    Lebanon’s Energy Crisis Fuels US-Iran Tensions

    Aug 25, 2021Joe Macaron

    In the midst of an economic collapse and an energy crisis, Lebanon has found itself in a tug of war between the United States and Iran. On August 19, Hezbollah…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonIdentity Politics and Sectarianization

    Hezbollah in Moscow: Russia Flexes Its Diplomatic Muscles

    Apr 14, 2021Joe Macaron

    In a medium-sized van with no bodyguards, on a rainy March 15, 2021, a Hezbollah delegation quietly walked into the Russian Foreign Ministry building in Moscow…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonDemocracy and Governance

    Lebanon Faces a Civil War, a Prospect of Its Own Making

    Mar 23, 2021Imad K. Harb

    The socioeconomic and political crises gripping Lebanon today are unprecedented in the country’s 100-year history, one that has witnessed intercommunal unrest …

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantDemocracy and Governance

    No Light at the End of Lebanon’s Long and Dark Tunnel

    Mar 3, 2021Joe Macaron

    By all accounts, Lebanon is a desperate case. The severe fiscal crises portend an extended economic depression ahead. The country has been in political paralys…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonDemocracy and Governance

    Lebanon Risks Becoming Irrelevant

    Nov 11, 2020Imad K. Harb

    For the third time in the span of a year, Lebanese politicians are trying to go back to the proverbial drawing board. On October 22nd, President Michel Aoun ap…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Prospects of US Mediation in the Lebanon-Israel Border Talks

    Oct 14, 2020Joe Macaron

    On October 14, Lebanon and Israel started the long-awaited US-mediated talks to demarcate their maritime borders under the supervision of the United Nations. T…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    The French Initiative in Lebanon: Endgame and Challenges

    Sep 16, 2020Joe Macaron

    French President Emmanuel Macron has been leading a charm offensive in Lebanon since the August 4th Beirut explosion as Paris seeks to reinvigorate its role in…