[jinnzaman]

Originally Posted by MossadConspiracy

Salam

you're right, thats a good point. Alot of other factors are involved. Nationality is one, local clan conflicts are another, and yes politics is a factor. But the biggest contributing factor is sect. The fact is, the political parties in Lebanon are almost all sectarian, or non-sectarian but just coincidentally have all of their members from a single sect. There are multiple shia parties, multiple sunni ones, multiple druze and christian ones, etc. These groups form coalitions and alliances and sometimes parties from the same sect will be on opposite sides because of rivalries they have with one another. For example, currently two druze factions are killing each other because one of them is allied to Hizbullah. Ultimately, however, these are all still parties and factions that are communal (mostly sectarian and local), and this is why Lebanese communities have been so susceptible to warlords for so many decades.

I still disagree, sectarianism isn't the main factor here, its the political environment within the state, external factors, and the demographic shift. Sectarianism doesn't explain why groups of the same sects conflict with one another nor does it explain why there are alliances between sects and religions. In terms of external factors, the creation of Lebanon itself was due to the actions of the French and British in the region. In terms of the problems that arose in the era of Naser, it was due to Egyptian-Syrian interference, followed by the PLO, followed by Syrian and Israeli interference in the affairs of the country. Lets not get into the fact that all of the militias during the civil war and presently got funding and weapons from foreign sources.

The problem with the theory of sectarianism is it doesn't explain why, when, and how political conflicts erupted where peace was the general norm.

The politics of all countries are influenced from beyond their borders. But its rare for a country to be in a constant cycle of disintegration and reconstitution the way Lebanon has been. There are things that are unique and specific to Lebanon that cause these things to happen so frequently there.

Yes its true that all countries are influenced from beyond their borders, but in this situation, superpowers and regional powers have had a lot to do with the internal conflict.

Its like the situation in Iraq. Their may have been tensions between Sunnis and Shias in Iraq's history, but there was relative stability. The current bloodbath there has more to do with foreign involvement than the sect itself.