Politisk sekterism i Libanon : En fallstudie av Taif-avtalet och den konsociationella demokratins hållbarhet

Sammanfattning: Aiming to contribute to the discourse on the sustainability of consociational democracy in plural societies, this case study provides an examination of Lebanon’s power sharing model. The study begins with an evaluation of the Taif Agreement. After acknowledging its effect on Lebanon’s consociational system the function and operation of Lijphart’s four consociational elements are analyzed. From these evaluations one can argue that power-sharing principles have helped Lebanon to maintain a relative calm after its civil war, but also that they have failed in generating national cohesion and a strong state. A re-emerging proposition in this study is hence that consociationalism has been both a solution and an impediment to the development of Lebanon.