LEBANON’S NATIONAL IDENTITY: WALKING BETWEEN RAINDROPS?

Authors

  • Hannah Stewart

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.6017/lev.v1i2.3048

Abstract

As the Levant continues to roil in upheaval in this second decade of the twenty-first century, Lebanon, a state notorious for its history of communal dissensions, remains remarkably stable, advancing a splendid model--albeit an uneasy model--of inter-communal coexistence. Lebanon’s history as a refuge for persecuted minorities and an entrepôt of international trade, in some ways, fostered a unique culture of openness and tolerance making it an “oddity” in its neighbourhood, and contributing to the formation of what can be termed a “distinct Lebanese identity.” A glance at Lebanon’s languages, traditions, history, and culture of power-sharing, suggests that despite periods of violence, patterns of coexistence among Lebanon’s various groups have developed organically, and often logically, since the French Mandate period, and can perhaps offer a model for emulation in a Levant of fractious ethnic mosaics.

Author Biography

Hannah Stewart

Hannah Stewart is a Middle East-based independent scholar working in the field of international development.  She is Executive Editor for Forbes-Middle East, and holds a Master's degree in Middle East and Mediterranean Studies from King's College London, where she studied under the guidance of Professor Michael Kerr.

 

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Published

2012-12-12

How to Cite

Stewart, H. (2012). LEBANON’S NATIONAL IDENTITY: WALKING BETWEEN RAINDROPS?. The Levantine Review, 1(2), 153–180. https://doi.org/10.6017/lev.v1i2.3048

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Articles