ABSTRACT
The electoral alliances were free of any political principle. Parties built alliances according to political interests in each electoral district, and allies in a specific district were opponents in another. On the Christian side, the rivalry between the Lebanese Forces and President Michel Aoun’s political movement dates back to 1988 when Aoun became army commander and Prime Minister. Communal relations within parties of the Christian community and between the Druze and Christians resemble a resurrection of specific period of Lebanese history of which all groups should be aware. To start with, Gebran Bassil’s ambition of being the strongest Christian politician, with enough power to intervene in the Druze political landscape by supporting the Yazbaki clan against Joumblatt. This political strategy echoes that of Bashir Shihab during the nineteenth-century Mount Lebanon system, who marginalized Christian leaders and manipulated Druze feudal lords, especially after the defeat of Bashir Joumblatt in 1825.
