Qifa Nabki
Middle East
Naturalizing the Palestinians
There are few issues that provoke such a strong response among the Lebanese as the question of the Palestinian refugees’ future in Lebanon. Interestingly enough, unlike most other controversial issues, there is a remarkable degree of consensus about this one. I have met very few Lebanese who do not strongly believe that the Palestinians must … Continue reading
Hizbullah in War and Peace
Update: See the bottom of this post for Joshua Landis’s response to Nick Noe’s article. The much-promised post on the subject of Palestinian naturalization is coming soon, but in the meantime I thought I’d put up Nicholas Noe’s latest article for Bitter Lemons, to see what the QN readership makes of it. ** Hizballah in … Continue reading
Neoliberalism & the Syrian Economy
There’s an interesting debate going on in the previous post about Dr. Charbel Nahas, and whether or not he’s likely to spearhead an FPM-sponsored assault on Haririan neoliberalism. If that’s just a tad too much “inside baseball” for you, then check out the following couple of links, which shed light on the future of Syria’s … Continue reading
Charbel Nahas: The FPM’s Secret Weapon?
For a period of a couple months, the cabinet formation was help up by a dispute about the appointment of Gebran Bassil — Michel Aoun’s son-in-law — as Telecommunications Minister. Aoun wanted him re-appointed; Saad Hariri did not. Eventually, a compromise was reached: the FPM was allowed to keep the Telecommunications Ministry as long as … Continue reading
Who Won?
I wasn’t really planning to write a post on this subject, but since people like winners and losers, maybe it’s worth saying something. One commenter writes: I’d be interested to read your analysis on who you think “won” from this cabinet haggling/negotiation. Do you think by holding out so long and getting more or less … Continue reading
Qifa Nabki 
And the people say…