Resilience and the Agency of Lebanese Elites

This working paper looks at the impact of neighbouring ethnically matched conflict on consociational systems. Specifically, it conducts a historical analysis of the reaction of Lebanese elites to the Syrian civil conflict. By contrasting responses from various sectarian leaders in Lebanon to specific high-tension elements of the polarising environment of the early 2010s, the aim of the paper is to further shed light on the resilience of the Lebanese state and more particularly the flexibility of elites to continue bargaining irrespective of formal state institutions. The objective is to ultimately take this case study and apply a comparative analysis to other periods of crisis in Lebanon, namely the protests and economic collapse of 2019-2021 and the 2023 Israel-Palestine conflict.