Lebanon and Syria: What are the prospects for improved relations?

Baumann, Hannes (2010) Lebanon and Syria: What are the prospects for improved relations? International Affairs at LSE (02 Apr 2010). Website.

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Abstract

One cliché loved by Western journalists writing about Syria is the “road to Damascus.” A particularly astonishing conversion occurred on the Beirut-Damascus highway on 31 March, when Lebanese-Druze leader Walid Jumblat travelled to the Syrian capital to pay his respects to President Bashar Assad. Having previously called Assad a monkey, snake, crocodile, and murderer, Jumblat recently rediscovered Syria as his “family and home.” Considered the “weathervane” of Lebanese politics (another cliché loved by Western journalists), the Druze leader knows where the wind is blowing. Lebanon’s Sunni Prime Minister Saad Hariri already paid a visit to Damascus in December 2009, the first such trip by a Lebanese head of government since 2005. Damascus, too, has made concessions: For the first time since independence in 1946, the two countries have exchanged ambassadors and there is talk of a final demarcation of the border.

Item Type:	Online resource (Website)
Official URL:	http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/ideas/
Additional Information:	© 2010 The Author(s)
Divisions:	IGA: LSE IDEAS
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform J Political Science > JF Political institutions (General) J Political Science > JZ International relations
Date Deposited:	04 Jul 2017 14:22
Last Modified:	15 Sep 2023 18:12
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/83111

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