Qifa Nabki
Reform
Divided Societies
A journalist called me yesterday afternoon for a comment on the recent news that Mitt Romney had appointed Walid Phares to his foreign policy team. As is well known, Phares was a member of the Lebanese Forces’ Executive Committee during the Lebanese Civil War, and the news of his appointment provoked a few expressions of … Continue reading
Who Would Benefit from Proportional Representation in Lebanon’s 2013 Elections?
I recently read an interesting profile of ex-Minister of the Interior Ziad Baroud in Al-Akhbar English (which, by the way, you should all be reading on a daily basis). The last two paragraphs, in particular, caught my eye: As part of his interest in electoral law, Baroud is in contact with Bahij Tabbara, a former … Continue reading
The General Begs to Differ
In a week from today, Lebanon will have been without a functioning government for three months. That’s not quite as long as the four and a half month stint that the country endured in 2009 following the legislative elections, but it’s still an embarrassingly long delay. Perhaps the most embarrassing thing about it is the … Continue reading
Day of Hypocrisy
The political story in Lebanon is changing so quickly that I’m loathe to forecast how things are going to play out over the next couple of weeks. A few quick thoughts, though, on the calculations of the various players and the choices they face: 1. Tables are turned Lebanon’s Sunnis are calling for a “day … Continue reading
Lebanon in 2020
One of the themes that came up repeatedly during Interior Minister Ziad Baroud’s panel discussion in Washington last month was the need for better strategic planning to address the myriad political, economic, social, environmental, and security-related challenges facing the country. I found myself wondering, as I left his talk, where Lebanon would be in, say, … Continue reading
Quoted in…
And the people say...