Lebanon’s Perfect Storm
After years of maintaining a dysfunctional political economy based on sectarianism and rentierism, Lebanon's ruling elites are being confronted with simultaneous financial, economic, and political crises. The question now is how they respond to a reformist movement demanding fundamental change, including a new political settlement.
BEIRUT – In retrospect, financial crises usually appear predetermined; but rarely do they offer much clarity about history’s direction. That is certainly the case in Lebanon today, where a predictable crisis has thrown the country into a state of deep uncertainty.