Lebanon

In the rush to stanch the bloodshed and rebuild Lebanon after a destructive 15-year civil war, the 1989 Taif Agreement maintained Lebanon’s confessional system, dividing political and economic power between the country’s 18 recognized sects. The agreement had the effect of empowering warlords and transforming them into political leaders. When utilities were rebuilt in the post-war period, the country’s sectarian parties became shareholders in reconstruction, and transparency and accountability were deferred. Lebanese have been paying the costs ever since.

Early in the civil war, the government created the Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR) to allocate aid for infrastructure reconstruction. In the years since, it has become one of the country’s most powerful economic actors, spending billions of dollars in close collaboration with Lebanon’s prime minister. The quality of service provision has often lagged, but the CDR has served its purpose as a political lubricant, rewarding politicians’ families and sectarian parties that advanced their members’ narrow interests.52 Political peace was maintained at the cost of effective and efficient services.

This is the Lebanon section of Sustainable States: Environment, Governance, and the Future of the Middle East. Please click here for the full report.