ABSTRACT
The effects of the “Arab Spring” were felt relatively little in Lebanon but the revolutionary protests in Syria were taken far more seriously, since they represented the possibility of a spillover effect and also the establishment of an Islamist regime in Syria. For Hezbollah, there has been a sharp dilemma between its alliance with the Syrian regime and its support for popular uprisings in the Arab world. There were clashes at the Lebanese-Israeli border between Palestinian refugees based in Lebanon and the Israeli military, and also near Tripoli between Sunni and Alawite Muslims. The current civil war in Syria has resulted in increasing numbers of refugees entering Lebanon and other neighbouring countries.
