Lebanon

Detroit (Special to Informed Comment) – Since its inception as a French mandate at the San Remo Conference in 1920, Lebanon has lived on the cusp of chaos economically, militarily, and politically. For many, life in the mountainous country has been synonymous with major political crises (like the events of 1958 and Operation Blue Bat, […]

Algeria

2019: Americans Slept while Street Revolts Reshaped Iraq, Lebanon, Sudan and Algeria

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – In 2019, the Middle East was shaken by a new round of street revolts. As the year began, Abdelaziz Bouteflika had announced a fifth run for the presidency of Algeria. Then the peaceful “revolution of Smiles” broke out and by April he had resigned. A small elite has for decades […]

Assyrians

A Subdued Christmas for Middle Eastern Christians amid New Wave of Popular Protests

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Chaldean Christians in Iraq have been asked by their Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako, to hold subdued private Christmas ceremonies this year to honor the over 500 Iraqi protesters who have been killed by government security and paramilitary security forces. Public celebrations have been canceled. The Iraqi street crowds want an […]

Lebanon

Lebanon’s October Revolution: Resistance and Popular Culture

Middle East Monitor

By Amal Ghazal | – I am following Lebanon’s October Revolution from Vancouver. Between me and the revolution stand two continents, an ocean, a sea and a 10-hour time difference. However, the connections between me and what I watch on my screen render time and space irrelevant. In fact, the distance draws me closer to […]

Lebanon

Lebanon’s Peaceful Protesters have One Demand: The Whole Rotten Elite Must Go

Waging Nonviolence

By Jenny Gustafsson | – (Via Waging Nonviolence) – Unlike previous movements, demonstrations in Lebanon have spread to all parts of the country and are targeting the entire political establishment. Holding a megaphone, a women chants to the crowds gathered at Martyrs’ Square in the middle of central Beirut, “We are the revolution of the […]

Lebanon

The Map: Beirut’s Demonstrations as Live City-Making

Global Voices

By Filip Noubel | – (GlobalVoices.org) – The protests that have swept Lebanon since October 17, 2019 started as a reaction to the announcement by the government of new taxes. They have since evolved into a rejection of the political and economic model that has allowed local elites to maintain control over the country since […]

Hizbullah

The Iraqi and Lebanese Popular uprisings Caught between Iranian and Israeli Geopolitics

Middle East Monitor

By Oraib Al-Rantawi | @OraibAlRantawi It is not only Iran that is paying close attention to the uprisings of the Iraqi and Lebanese people; Israel is also monitoring the situation closely, especially in Lebanon. It has also been involved in the Iraqi crisis recently and dealing direct blows to the Popular Mobilisation Forces and the […]

Hizbullah

Hezbollah: What Lebanon’s Protests against Sectarian Elite Mean for the Party-Militia

The Conversation

By Adham Saouli | – The national uprising that has engulfed Lebanon since mid-October is historic and revolutionary. Protests have continued across Lebanon, even after Prime Minister Saad Hariri resigned on October 29 saying he wanted to give the country a “positive shock”. The response of Hezobllah, the armed political movement that has been part […]

Lebanon

How Lebanon’s Uprising Defies the Sectarian Narrative: Not Sunni, Shiite, Christian

The Conversation

By Mira Assaf Kafantaris | – Religion has shaped Lebanon since it gained independence from France in 1943. In this multicultural country of Muslims, Christians and Druze – a medieval faith derived from Islam – religion defines membership and belonging. It is woven into Lebanon’s economic, political and social fabric. The mass protests that began […]