ABSTRACT
The history of civil society organizations in Lebanon started more than 170 years ago. These associations have and are still playing an important role since they cater to the social and economic needs of communities and individuals in Lebanon. This chapter reviews the historical development of civil society in Lebanon. It argues that the history of civil society in Lebanon has paralleled the development of Lebanese society and was shaped by different political and social events: the processes of urbanization, the decline of the Ottoman Empire, the external interference of foreign missionaries and the eventual emergence of the state of Lebanon facilitated the appearance of communal and family-based associations. This chapter establishes that there are at least five critical phases central to the development of Lebanese civil society, the first of which pre-dates the emergence of the Lebanese state; it also argues that four different categories of associations have emerged to give shape and substance to civil society in modern-day Lebanon.
