Krize, građanski rat i slom konfesionalne demokracije u Libanonu
Crises, civil war and breakdown of confessional democracy in Lebanon

Summary/Abstract: The paper shows the development of consociational democracy in Lebanon from independence until today, and mutually intertwined internal and external factors that affected (and still affect) the Lebanese political system. The paper is divided into three sections. The first section is focused on the independence from France in 1943, and the establishment of the “First Republic”. That same year, leading Lebanese Christian and Muslim politicians came to an unwritten understanding, a kind of Lebanese gentlemen’s agreement, which later became known as the “National Pact”. This agreement was not aimed at establishing the foundations of Lebanese confessional democracy, but despite that, it established the foundations for a political system, which regulates the interconfessional relations in Lebanon even today. The second section of the paper deals with the crises of 1952 and 1958, which tested the Lebanese state and society, and the Civil War of 1975-1989 that tore Lebanon apart. The 1989 Ta’if Accord officially ended the war and marked the beginning of the “Second Republic”. The conclusion is a short discussion focused on the future of Lebanon, taking into consideration the current state of the region.

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