TY - JOUR
T1 - The Lebanese army
T2 - Saviour of the republic?
AU - Aboultaif, Eduardo W.
PY - 2016/1/2
Y1 - 2016/1/2
N2 - The recent history of the Middle East is marked by military influence (both direct and indirect) over governance. Lebanon, however, has followed a different trajectory: although it was ruled by army commander General Fuad Shihab between 1958 and 1970, this represented a mediated solution to civil unrest. Here, Eduardo W Aboultaif analyses how the army has helped to preserve stability during periods of crisis, in the 1950s and 2000s, by remaining neutral towards those confessional groups struggling for power – the hallmark of what became known as Shihabism. When it failed to do so in 1975, Aboultaif argues, the armed forces fractured along religious faultlines and the country descended into a vicious, protracted conflict.
AB - The recent history of the Middle East is marked by military influence (both direct and indirect) over governance. Lebanon, however, has followed a different trajectory: although it was ruled by army commander General Fuad Shihab between 1958 and 1970, this represented a mediated solution to civil unrest. Here, Eduardo W Aboultaif analyses how the army has helped to preserve stability during periods of crisis, in the 1950s and 2000s, by remaining neutral towards those confessional groups struggling for power – the hallmark of what became known as Shihabism. When it failed to do so in 1975, Aboultaif argues, the armed forces fractured along religious faultlines and the country descended into a vicious, protracted conflict.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84962580252&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/03071847.2016.1152123
DO - 10.1080/03071847.2016.1152123
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84962580252
SN - 0307-1847
VL - 161
SP - 70
EP - 78
JO - RUSI Journal
JF - RUSI Journal
IS - 1
ER -