For the first time since the 1980s, Lebanon is now constantly on the front page of the world's media. This book seeks to explain the contemporary situation in Lebanon and how it affects the region and the world.

No country in the world has more political battles, military conflicts, and ethnic complexity per person and per square mile than does Lebanon. This book explains the issues, events, and personalities involved in one of the globe's most dramatic and important stories.

'A rare panoptical book on Lebanon, illustrating the country's complexity and exhilarating intangibles.' - Michael Young, Opinion Editor, The Daily Star, Lebanon

Autorentext
BARRY RUBIN **** is Director of the GLORIA Center, editor of MERIA Journal , and editor of the Middle East in Focus series for Palgrave Macmillan.

Inhalt
Reflections on Lebanon; W.Harris What Makes Lebanon a Distinctive Country?; E.Fawaz Lebanon's Militia Wars; T.Badran Lebanon's Roller Coaster Ride; W.Harris Demographic Dilemmas; M.Farha Lebanon's Culture: Popular Music as a Case Study; C.P.Freund Lebanon's Economy between Violence and Political Stalemate; N.Raphaeli Islamist Groups in Lebanon; G.Gambill Hizballah in Lebanon: Between Tehran and Beirut, between the Struggle with Israel, and the Struggle for Lebanon; E.Zisser The Lebanese Shi'a as a Political Community; O.Nir Israel and Lebanon: Problematic Proximity; J.Spyer America and the Lebanon Issue; D.Schenker