ABSTRACT

Torn by civil war, its major city in shambles, and occupied by foreign peacekeeping forces as well as foreign armies, the Republic of Lebanon in the 1980s was struggling to regroup, rebuild and resolve its problems under new leadership. In this analytical survey, first published in 1983, Professor Gordon addresses such questions as why the republic – rooted in the distant past – succumbed to such disintegration. Lebanon’s multi-ethnic character and the Palestinian presence are considered fully, and Lebanon is examined in the international context, inevitably with particular reference to the creation of Israel and its consequences. The country is viewed both in its own right and also as a small skiff on a very rough regional and international sea.

chapter 1|15 pages

Introduction

chapter 2|15 pages

Formation

chapter 3|23 pages

Society

chapter 4|19 pages

Economy

chapter 5|26 pages

Polity and Politics

chapter 6|16 pages

The Collapse of 1975

chapter 7|22 pages

Interlude: 1976–1982

chapter 8|10 pages

The Israeli Invasion and Its Sequels

chapter 9|6 pages

Selected and Annotated Bibliography