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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20090407T080000
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DTSTAMP:20260510T110828
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SUMMARY:Mark Farha Lectures on Lebanon as the Mirror of Arab Politics
DESCRIPTION:On April 7\, 2009\, Mark Farha\, Visiting Assistant Professor at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar\, was invited by CIRS to give the April Monthly Dialogue on the subject of “Lebanon as the Mirror of Arab Politics.”  \n \n \nFarha began by noting that the “sheer number of civil society organizations\, the amount of political activism\, and the dynamism of social activism that the city of Beirut has witnessed over the centuries is unparalleled.” He further emphasized Lebanon’s unique strength\, which\, he said\, comes from the strategic geographical position that Lebanon occupies as a gateway to the Arab world and the Mediterranean Sea\, helping to make it “one of the most vibrant terrains on earth” and “a meeting point for civilizations.” Farha explained that the “melting pot” effect created in Lebanon was as a result of the diversity of its cultures\, religions and ethnicities that\, for centuries\, unleashed creative synergies through their interaction despite periodic backlashes of civil strife. \n \n \nHistorically\, Lebanon was a cross-road for a variety of cultures that congregated in this particular location to partake in commercial and intellectual exchanges. One example from ancient history was that segments of the Justinian code were formulated in Beirut. Ancient Beyrutus was hailed as a center for law\, and prospective jurists flocked to Lebanon from all over the world to study at its famous school of law until the 6th century. \n \n \n“Lebanon\,” Farha said\, “is the oldest democracy in the Middle East\, continuously operating since 1926\,” and “despite all the trouble that one may associate with Lebanon\, it should be borne in mind that what you have here is a political system\, which\, despite all its failings\, has endured for very long periods.” Regarding the milestones of Lebanese political history\, Farha pointed out that Lebanon has had no military coups d’état – in contradistinction to most Arab countries. The country has the highest density per capita of universities and secondary schools in the Arab world\, which is partly a legacy of the establishment of Catholic and Protestant missionary schools\, and\, to this day\, many “Lebanese are multi-lingual and quite well-educated.” Farha continued by recording that Lebanon was the first Arab country to grant women’s suffrage in 1953\, which\, he noted\, occurred some twenty years prior to Switzerland’s granting of these rights.  \n \n \n“Lebanon has seen its share of confessional conflict throughout the ages” Farha recounted\, but he argued that\, due to Lebanon’s history and diverse mix of cultures\, “the liberalism of Lebanon is a function of its pluralism. If you want to get along\, if you have a country which is so divided\, ethnically and religiously\, there are a few options\, and one of them is to find a modus vivendi\, which de facto means recognizing each group and giving each its due…to maintain the peace long-term.” To this effect\, Farha counted no less that eighteen officially recognized spiritual leaders in Lebanon\, each representing a different confessional identity and each empowered by the constitution to voice their community’s concerns at the government level.  \n \n \nDespite all these various factions\, Farha argued that Lebanon’s problems cannot all be blamed on the friction of confessional identities or external meddling. Juxtaposing the demographic make-up and class divisions of the country\, Farha claimed that tensions will continue to loom if socio-economic disparities are not adequately tackled by an enfeebled state. As such\, skewed forms of globalization and commercialism have shown a propensity to upset any balance that the country may have achieved.  \n \n \nFarha argued that each of the surrounding Arab countries experiences similar socio-economic and communal predicaments\, but that their salience is accentuated by Lebanon’s unique diversity. Just as the hidden potential of Arab thought and culture can unfold in Lebanon’s open marketplace of ideas\, so too the negative symptoms of the Arab world are writ large upon the face of Lebanese politics and society.  \n \n \nFarha concluded by outlining three possible future courses open to Lebanon: A pernicious emulation of the Israeli model of exclusive ethno-religious discrimination and confessional segregation; the confessional democracy Lebanon narrowly succeeded to preserve thanks to the 2008 Doha Accords mediated by Qatar; or\, finally\, the avenue leading towards true national integration in which each citizen is granted full and equal rights in all spheres irrespective of his or her personal religious identity. While Lebanon stands out as the only country in the region neither predicated on a religion of state nor a single sectarian hegemony\, Farha underscored that the regional escalation of competing communalisms has rendered the reaffirmation of a trans-sectarian\, inclusive Arab-Lebanese identity at once all the more difficult and indispensable.  \n \n \nProfessor Mark Farha is currently teaching the core class “Comparative Political Systems” as well as an elective on “Globalization and Geopolitics of the Middle East.”  \n \n \n Article by Suzi Mirgani\, CIRS Publications Coordinator.
URL:https://cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu/event/mark-farha-lectures-lebanon-mirror-arab-politics/
CATEGORIES:Dialogue Series,Regional Studies
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20090429T080000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20090429T180000
DTSTAMP:20260510T110828
CREATED:20141022T150347Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240314T115041Z
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SUMMARY:Nabil Fahmy on US Arab Relations in a Changing World
DESCRIPTION:Former Egyptian Ambassador to the United States Nabil Fahmy gave his analysis and insight into the foreign policy challenges facing the United States and the Arab world in a speech at the Diplomatic Club in Doha on April 29\, 2009. \n \n \nFahmy stressed the inter-connectedness of the challenges facing the region and suggested that developments on both the American and Arab political landscapes have presented new opportunities to tackle them. \n \n \nHe hailed the election of Barack Obama in particular as an indicator that the “United States is going through a transformational period” in terms of the way it sees its place in the world. Under the Clinton administration\, he said\, the United States struggled with the new roles and responsibilities it assumed as it transitioned from a Cold War superpower to a global power. Meanwhile\, George W. Bush “sold his foreign policy to Americans as a function of fears” and withdrew American participation in international treaties and cooperation with the United Nations. \n \n \nIn contrast\, President Obama has told Americans that they need to change and has elevated the role of diplomacy in America’s toolkit for international engagement. Obama “was not selling fear\,” Fahmy said\, and instead arguing that America can “engage in the world.” \n \n \nWhile the Arab world has a large stake in America’s actions – the global financial crisis\, for example\, Fahmy said\, has led to a $10 billion reduction in foreign investment in the region – it is also experiencing a transformation of its own\, spurred by a new openness in the media and an ever-more knowledgeable and globally exposed youth demographic. Fahmy sees\, in the future\, a continued importance for states that have traditionally played a leading role in the region\, such as Egypt\, as well as an increased importance for countries in the Gulf which have an opportunity to diversify their investments and gain a sense of economic power that is not wholly dependent on outside brokers. \n \n \nHowever\, Fahmy said\, the Arab world suffers from a lack of unity created by conflicts in national priorities and petty rivalries. Thus\, he advised\, Arabs need to look to the model of the European Union and “find a way to talk in one voice even if we do not have identical positions.” In addition\, the Arab foreign policy agenda should be more proactive and clearly stated\, rather than merely reacting to agendas set out by other international players. \n \n \nOn a whole host of issues\, from Iraq and Iran to Arab-Israeli peace and terrorism\, the United States and the Arab world have a different ordering of priorities\, according to Fahmy. The encouraging news\, however\, is that developments on one front often have positive repercussions for others\, and President Obama “wants to deal with all these issues together.” \n \n \nOn Israeli-Palestinian peace\, Ambassador Fahmy stressed that there is no solution but a two-state solution. He added that he was worried by the formation of a new Israeli government led by Binyamin Netanyahu and the Israeli right. If\, however\, Arab states make it clear that they will pursue their foreign policy objectives regardless of outside pressure\, the United States will respond and offer cooperation on realizing peace\, which is also in its national interest\, as it did during the 1970s with Anwar Sadat.  \n \n \nFahmy acknowledged that terrorism is a major challenge facing the Arab world\, but he called for some historical perspective on the matter\, arguing that Egypt was the target of terrorism and religious extremism before America. He also stated that terrorism is hardly a phenomenon limited to the Middle East. Europe experienced waves of terrorism in the 1960s and 1970s\, and the West “cannot put blame on others\, because they have been there before.” \n \n \nOn Iraq\, Fahmy said it was in the interest of the Arab world that Iraq remain a unified country\, and efforts must be made to promote national identity above the myriad sectarian identities that have emerged. \n \n \nResponding to a question from the audience regarding political reform and the absence of democracy in the region\, Fahmy said\, “Having better institutions in the Arab world serves the Arab world before it serves America.” He stressed\, however\, that reform is a longer-term project that requires fostering implementation\, rather than appealing to immediate and careless strategies. \n \n \nA seasoned diplomat\, Ambassador Fahmy was Egypt’s chief representative to the United States for nine years beginning in 1999. He has participated in Arab-Israeli peace talks and filled several advisory positions in the course of his tenure at the Foreign Ministry. Ambassador Fahmy is an expert on international security and disarmament and served as chairman of the UN Secretary General’s Advisory Board of Disarmament Matters in 2001. \n \n \nSummary by Alex Schank.
URL:https://cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu/event/nabil-fahmy-us-arab-relations-changing-world/
CATEGORIES:American Studies,Dialogue Series,Regional Studies
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