connerye

Throughout her presentation, Dr. Najat Aoun Saliba used a variety of French sayings and cultural references demonstrating the large French influence in the region. The idea of the affairs of countries outside Lebanon influencing domestic politics came up multiple times throughout her presentation. This influence comes from both the past colonial history of the region as well as the variety of cross-border identity groups and domestic conflict present in the region. Due to the natural isolation and stability of the US and our friendly neighbors, this idea is foreign to me. 

Dr. Saliba brought up this concept again in her explanation of why government corruption is so common in Lebanon. She explained that Lebanon has received financial aid in exchange for politicians allowing refugees of conflicts in both Palestine and Syria to enter the country. Leaders then often pocket these funds while refugees are stuck living in camps. The camps lack proper waste disposal systems and other necessities needed to provide proper living conditions.

  Corruption has led to a lack of trust of the Lebanese government. Since COVID Dr. Saliba explained that citizens of Lebanon, especially the youth, feel as though their vote doesn’t matter. This leads the citizens of Lebanon to not participate in elections. Furthermore, constituents often disagree with their local leaders’ politics, also preventing them from engaging with local leaders. I found this greatly problematic because the lack of willingness to engage with institutions will create a never-ending cycle of lack of accountability. The lack of accountability will allow leaders to not have to worry about providing for their citizens. Leaders are emboldened to engage in corruption due to the fact that they will not be voted out of office.

Next, she brought up the fact that corruption has led to ignorance of science. This was evident in the unwillingness to abide by laws regarding smoking indoors. While there were laws present prohibiting smoking indoors, the money possessed by lobbying groups of restaurants and other venues outweighed government enforcement of these regulations. Another example of this ignorance was the 2020 Beirut explosion. This tragedy occurred due to unsafe storage of chemicals. This explosion could have been easily avoided by simply consulting experts.

These two issues illustrate how the health and safety of the people of Lebanon have been put aside due to the desire to gain money. The events demonstrate the lack of fear of political leaders being removed from office if they do not advocate and provide for their people. 

There was another question that I thought related well to the study of international relations. Dr. Saliba was asked if she thought the UN or other countries should be able to force the government of Lebanon to adhere to laws regarding waste management and environmental degradation. Dr. Saliba stated that unfortunately there was no way for the UN or other powers to intervene without violating Lebanon’s sovereignty. This allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of why the issue of climate change is so hard for countries to collaborate on. It is easy for countries to set goals and recognize problems but it is tough to force states to stick to guidelines set. Unfortunately, violating the sovereignty of countries would break international norms. No government is willing to ostracize itself from other countries in the international system to ensure states are protecting the environment. 

Relating to the first idea I discussed regarding the interconnectedness of regional politics of Middle Eastern countries, I was wondering if the lack of accountability for politicians has been normalized in Lebanon. I think the past instability in both Lebanon and other surrounding countries may have led other politicians and the public to be hesitant to hold leaders accountable. Lebanese citizens may be happy with having a stable government ruled by the people of Lebanon. This leads the people and leaders of Lebanon to not want to risk instability by pushing for more accountability and stricter adherence to the constitution. They may fear that instability could leave them vulnerable to outside influence as well as violence within the country. This combined with the pandemic and destruction of Beirut due to the explosion could be why the public is much less motivated to push for change. Lastly, lack of accountability could be a social norm as Lebanon has seen strict regimes in the region and is satisfied with having a parliament and constitution, even if they have flaws. They may believe that engaging in a revolution would lead a strong and oppressive leader to emerge.