Qifa Nabki
Hezbollah
Hizbullah’s Position on the Meaning of Majority Governments
Hizbullah MP Nawwaf Moussawi offered a rare explanation of his party’s position on majoritarianism and what the Constitution has to say about how cabinets should be formed. Here’s the relevant bit: “Yesterday, [Samir Geagea] asked whether or not a majority government was a constitutional government. We say that the Lebanese Constitution considers that if the … Continue reading
The Constitutional Backdrop to Lebanon’s Cabinet Deadlock
We hear a lot of rhetoric these days from FPM leaders about Saad al-Hariri’s arrogant unilateralism in his cabinet-formation dealings, a unilateralism that they say violates the constitutional principle of “communal coexistence” (Preamble, clause j). Accompanying this argument is the occasional complaint about the Ta’if Accord, which (so the Aounists say) stripped the Maronite President … Continue reading
The Next Lebanon War
Anyone else feel that there’s a creepy symbiosis about Israel and Hizbullah’s messaging strategies these days? Take this little tidbit from al-Manar’s website, which cites an article in The Times (a Rupert Murdoch-owned newspaper) about Hizbullah’s growing arsenal. The original piece states: According to Israeli, United Nations and Hezbollah officials, the Shia Muslim militia is … Continue reading
Is That a Silver Bullet In Your Pocket…
We’ve entered the third week of deliberations over Lebanon’s next cabinet lineup, and there is no end in sight. Hariri has paid more house calls than a 19th century doctor in typhoid season, and yet for all we know, there isn’t even agreement on the most basic issues, like the number of ministers accorded to … Continue reading
Coalition of the Unwilling
I have a short piece over at ForeignPolicy.com‘s “The Argument” blog about the cabinet formation. Here are the first couple of paragraphs, with a link to the rest. Come on back and comment, if you’re so inclined. Coalition of the Unwilling By Elias Muhanna When the March 14 coalition won a parliamentary majority in Lebanon’s … Continue reading
Qifa Nabki 
And the people say…