Interpretation of Political Sectarianism from the Druze Community's Political Participation in Lebanon

LI Haipeng

Department of Arabic Language and Culture, School of Foreign Languages, Peking University

West Asia and Africa, 2017.02

Abstract:

The sectarian system in Lebanon is a typical case of consociational democracy in the Middle East，during the formation of which the Lebanese Druze played a key role. Since its independence in 1943，Lebanon’s consociational system has undergone a complete cycle of building，maintenance，collapse and reconstruction. Limited by factors such as the inherent flaws of the system，the external political environment，the intra-sectarian political dynamics，and the unique historical experience，the Druze elites in Lebanon also experienced a complete cycle in their patterns of political participation，starting from traditional sectarian politics to radical left-wing politics，through armed sectarian separatism，and going back to traditional sectarian politics within the system. The case of the Druze of Lebanon shows that although consociational system can basically guarantee the political participation of minority groups，there are considerable hidden risks in its stability due to multiple reasons. As a potential option for Middle Eastern countries facing the task of crisis resolution or state reconstruction，the Lebanese model must be dealt with critically. 

Key Words: 

Consociational Democracy; Political Sectarianism; Lebanon; Druze; Political Participation; Stability