Mediterranean Programme - [03/25/2008]

Lebanon and Palestine: Keys to understanding their fragility

On 16 March, on the Jordan shores of the Dead Sea, the EuroMeSCo network held a research seminar on the fragility of state structures in the Middle East, with particular emphasis being paid to the cases of Lebanon and Palestine. The aim of the seminar was, firstly, to understand the connection between the fragility of the structures and the degree of democracy and security and, secondly, to identify what role was being played by external actors such as the EU, the US, and others. Eduard Soler, Coordinator of the Mediterranean Programme at the CIDOB Foundation and Salam Kawakibi, part-time researcher for the Foundation, took part in a seminar that also featured the participation of leading academics such as Nadim Shehadi from Chatham House and Mahjoob Zweiri, from the Centre for Strategic Studies in Amman.

In the case of Palestine, the participants stressed the fact that any comments on the vulnerability of its governmental structures should bear in mind the effects of occupation on everyday life, as well as on the legitimacy of the authorities. It was also stressed that "it is naive to call Hamas a terrorist group and at the same time to call on them to behave like saints”. As for Lebanon, the participants discussed the delicate domestic situation, at the same time as claiming that in contrary to what might appear to be the case, the political paralysis that the country has been experiencing in recent months is not a symptom of fragility but rather of the strength of the system, given that is shows that concurrent projects exist, and that nobody can succeed in gaining absolute power in the country. Thus, Lebanon was described as "a strong state in a weak regional environment”.

During the course of the seminar, participants discussed the role of other states in the region such as Syria, a country with a strong authoritarian regime, but with elements of fragility, and Iran, a state that is gaining an increasingly important role. With respect to Iran, several participants pointed out that Teheran is particularly keen on maintaining instability in the region and that therefore it can be called a "fragilising" actor. As for the European Union, participants called its policy in Palestine counterproductive, in terms of the isolation imposed on Hamas following its victory in the elections, while the EU’s policy in the Lebanon was described as positive, and a good summary was made of the FINUL mission. In general terms, however, it was claimed that Europeans "lose themselves in the details" without managing to devise a long-term strategy for the region.

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