Stephen Burkett Howard
Published: 2006
Total Pages: 332
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Lebanon is lauded as one of the most democratic states in the region; however, p olitical practice casts doubt on the legitimacy of the system. The objective of this thesis seeks to answer a single question: Based on the established norms o f civil society, is Lebanon viably democratic? I propose that Lebanon does not p ossess a civil society, and thus, due to the inherent relationship between civil society and democracy, Lebanon does not meet the requisite criteria to be consi dered a liberal democracy. Particular social norms - rather than rational plural ism - forged the Lebanese confessional system and function to preclude the estab lishment of civil society. Factors maintaining this state of affairs, such as th e vast stores of authority vested in the communal elite, the cantonization of th e populace, the extra-territorial communities among the dispossessed Palestinian s and armed factions, the preponderance of political ideologies along diverging national interests, and the abuse of external ties and private interests all ser ve to buoy the confessional aspect of Lebanon and ensure the continuation of a d ysfunctional state. Through the use of survey data this thesis attempts to measure the operational indicators of civil society in the hopes of providing empirical support to the a rgument that Lebanon lacks democratic legitimacy. The instrument deals with such predictors as: political integration and a consensual political culture, willi ngness to compromise, pluralism and respect for diversity, rule of law and respe ct for authority, and active political involvement. My assumption held that respondents would demonstrate low levels of national co hesion and pluralistic values, suggesting that Lebanon has not yet achieved the degree of political modernization supportive of a liberal democracy; however, th e survey findings reveal a high degree of integration and tolerance among the re spondents - a surprising find since it undermined certain widely held notions of Lebanese society. Nevertheless, the data also exposes the illegitimacy of the s tate through the particularly low scores on the indices related to justice syste m legitimacy, political involvement, and willingness to grant the state authorit y.