ABSTRACT
Lebanon has one of the most dynamic civil society sectors in the Middle East. Knowledge about Lebanon’s nongovernmental organizations, however, remains limited. This lack of knowledge has not only made it difficult for researchers to understand how Lebanon’s civil society organizations operate; it has also made it difficult for those who seek to strengthen the country’s civil society organizations. This chapter presents a summary of the literature that explores the challenges encountered by Lebanese civil society organizations. The first section focuses on the external challenges present within the environment in which Lebanon’s civil society organizations operate. The second section focuses on the internal governance challenges that constrain the management and activities of Lebanon’s civil society organizations. By pulling together literature published in Arabic, English and French, we seek to encourage future research that will improve of civil society in Lebanon.
