RESEARCH PROJECTS
The research focuses on examining the effects of applying an Ombudsman institution on the structure and functions of the government apparatus in Lebanon. Research completed and article being written. R. D. Antoun
Conducting field research and presenting policy recommendations concerning the status, problems and prospects of local government and municipalities in Lebanon. My contribution includes writing two chapters: Municipal Government in the Mount Lebanon Region, and the concluding chapter of the book, in addition to being (with Dr. H. Krayem) associate project leader. Research completed and due to be sent for publication in September 1995. R. D. Antoun and H. Krayem (Supported by Lebanese Center for Policy Studies.)
The aim of this study is to examine ethical and moral questions in the Lebanese administration, and to assess the effect of the lack of ethics not only on administrative practices, but also on the relationship between government employees and the citizens, as well as on social and political behavior in Lebanon. Research in its final stages. R. D. Antoun. (Supported by Center d'Etudes et de Recherche sur le Moyen-Orient Contemporain.)
The research focuses on the institutions which have a role in environmental management, as well as the enforcement of environmental regulations in Lebanon. It stresses the lack of vision, the inadequacy of the legal framework and the non-enforcement of existing regulations. Research completed and article being written. R. D. Antoun.
The research evaluates the recent administrative reform movement in Lebanon (1993-95) with emphasis on the new techniques and mechanisms implemented. Research in its initial stage. R. D. Antoun .
Research completed and sent for publication. R. D. Antoun.
The study deals with some factors that have an impact on the long term fate of Islamic movements in Lebanon. Some of these factors are: the evolution of the Arab-Israeli peace process; the ebb and flow of political Islamism in Iran and Syria, and Lebanon's socio-economic problem. The paper sheds some light on the resurgence of radicalism among Lebanon's Islamist groups. A. N. Hamzeh.
As a direct response to the political activism of the Sunni Islamist groups, some Sufi orders have now entered the political and social arena to act as a counter movement and as a political actor to defend their interests. The study profiles the largest of these Sufi-based societies, the Ahbash of Lebanon. The analysis will focus on the controversial historical and theological origins of this movement, its social roots, leadership, political activities in Lebanon and the causal factors for its dynamic growth in recent times. A. N. Hamzeh and R. Dekmejian.
Chapter forthcoming in Conflict Resolution in the Middle East. The study identifies and explains the pervasive role of Hizbullah as a third party in conflict management and resolution within Lebanon's Shi'ite community. By providing methods to resolve conflicts among the Shi'ites and sometimes among others, Hizbullah has contributed to delegitimizing both the Shi'ite establishment and the Lebanese government. Based on interviews with Hizbullah's high ranking leaders and collected cases of conflict, the study systematically analyzes Hizbullah's role in conflict management and resolution in its areas of control. A. N. Hamzeh. (Supported by Center for Conflict Management and Resolution, AUB).
This study tested whether a hypothesis explaining popular support for Middle Eastern fundamentalist movements adequately describes the grassroots appeal of Lebanon's radical Shiite organization, Hizbullah. The data came from a survey carried out in the Shiite community during summer of 1993. The findings were that Hizbullah adherents were less likely to be of low socio-economic status, deep religiosity and strong political alienation than had been expected. The Islamist adoption of traditional Lebanese political norms which feature the development of clientele networks is felt to underlie the growth of their movement. Aided by Iran, the impact of Hizbullah's wide distribution of benefits is magnified by the failure of its rivals and the Lebanese government to adequately address Shiite needs. Lebanon's pluralist system and Syria's interests influence Hizbullah's moderate trend and shape its evolution as a mainstream party. J. Harik.
This work analyzes the effects of Lebanon's socio-political norms and political institutions, and the ferocity, external dimensions and results of the civil war on the country's short and long-term chances for democratization. A comparison of early elections with those that followed the Ta'if Accord, and an analysis of the Hariri government's conduct and dependence on Damascus, leads to the conclusion that efforts to put the country back on the democratic track remain a dead letter. Ironically, the constitutional reforms emanating from the Ta'if Accord actually reinforce sectarian politics. The continued tug of primordial ties combined with pressures on the weak government to accommodate Syrian policy, appear to distance Lebanese citizens from democratic practice and values more than ever. (This will appear as a chapter in Volume II of Democracy in the Middle East, to be published by Lynne Reiner). J. Harik.
This chapter in a book entitled Conflict Resolution in The Middle East, examines the utility of two hypotheses concerning the resolution of deeply-rooted, inter-group conflict, by an analysis of the policies and processes evolved to re-settle Christians who were displaced from Druze areas during the civil war. The findings were that Druze and Christian leaders never were able to engage in task-related project which could promote trust, nor did they undertake constructive dialogue about their differences, since the political results of the civil war led to a hardening of positions on both sides. Christian obstinacy was encouraged by their marginalization and the Syrian-supported government's choice of Druze chieftain Walid Jumblatt as minister of the affairs of the displaced. The Druze for their part, expected acknowledgment of their role in the victorious coalition and insisted on traditional prerogatives. In this climate conflict management rather than conflict resolution was the order of the day. J. Harik. (Supported by URB.)
The general purpose of this study is to explore the complex and reciprocal interaction between a society's values, beliefs and attitudes and the nature of its political system, by observing the political behavior of a segment of its youth, who, within a specified framework of democratic process, shaped electoral strategies and mobilized the support of their peers at AUB in 1993 and 1994. More specifically, we wish to investigate the possibility that a reaction to wartime experiences and the current general political environment, might induce student activists to depart from Lebanon's socio-political norms as well as from the radical and highly confessionalized behavior that characterized student activism at AUB in the 1970s. If this was the case we intend to analyze the present trend and discuss the role and impact of the University Student-Faculty Committee in developing it. J. Harik.
Heads of households were surveyed in the Harf district of the Shuf mountains during 1994 to determine the social, psychological, political and economic factors that weighed in their decisions to permanently re-settle in their mountain homes. The roles of the state and NGO's are critically examined and policy suggestions are made for the re-settlement of those who were displaced as a result of protracted social conflict. J. Harik. (Supported by URB.)
The fierce fighting which engulfed Lebanon for fifteen years, starting 1975, left deep scars in some of its institutions while it crippled others. The aim of this research is to provide a comprehensive scheme for reforming the Lebanese administration and its institutions. Research completed. M. Kisirwani. (Supported by Chemonics International)
The Central Inspection Commission is one of the central control agencies expected to play a major role in re-building the Lebanese bureaucracy which was limping before the war and was practically crippled during the war and its aftermath. The research project aims at reconstructing the Central Inspection Commission itself in order to revitalize the administration and relieve it of its combined old and war-generated pathologies. Completed June 1994. M. Kisirwani. (Supported by Hariri Foundation; AUB/John F. Kennedy School of Government Collaborative Research Project.)
The research examines the disciplinary system in Lebanon and, in particular, the efficacy of a specific external control mechanism; the general Disciplinary Council which is entrusted with the responsibility of disciplining civil servants who fail in their professional obligations. The aim of this research project is to provide an effective and democratic mechanism of control over government officials. M. Kisirwani. (Supported by Hariri Foundation; AUB/John F. Kennedy School of Government Collaborative Research Project.)
A paper accepted for publication in a forthcoming book by AUB on Conflict Resolution. H. Krayem.
This is a survey of the conditions of Municipalities in the six different Lebanese Provinces. I will write on the two provinces of South Lebanon. Each author will participate with a separate chapter in the final book. H. Krayem, R. Antoun, P. Salem, I. Suleiman, N. Kabbara, A. Ghosein, M. Shaoul and S. Haddad. (Supported by Lebanese Center for Policy Studies.)
A chapter in a forthcoming book by the Cultural Council of South Lebanon, 1995. The chapter analyzes the political conditions for the reintegration of the occupied territories into the Lebanese state. H. Krayem (and many other authors).
The paper delineates the theoretical and political underpinnings of fundamentalist ideology that has affected the past, present and the foreseeable future not only of local state politics or regional relationships but, more importantly, the international arena and the new world order. It draws up the actual political application of these underpinnings on state level, as in the case of Iran and Sudan, and the regional level, as in the case of radical fundamentalist movements in Egypt, Israel and the occupied territories and Lebanon. A. S. Moussalli. (Supported by URB.)
The project maps out the discourses of major fundamentalist theoreticians and movements concerning the above mentioned issues. It shows the main theoretical and political underpinnings of these discourses and develops a typology of Islamic movements that range from majoritarian tyranny to pluralistic democracy. Particular attention is paid to the discourses of the leaders and founders of the main movements. A. S. Moussalli.
This encyclopedia is to contain information and basic analyses of major fundamentalist figures, leaders, thinkers, ideologists, movements, groups and similar pertinent information. A. S. Moussalli.