Resilience in the Eye of the Storm: Capacity-Building in Lebanon

Abstract

Despite the legacy of an intractable civil war, Syrian interference, Israeli invasions, and the highest inflow of refugees worldwide per capita, Lebanon has largely remained unaffected by the unrest that has destabilised most of the South Eastern Mediterranean after 2011. Hence, the Lebanese case can shed light on the underpinnings of resilience, providing crucial insights into resilience-building in the region. Specifically, this chapter argues that the seven baseline requirements identified by NATO as the foundations of state and societal resilience cannot serve as a blueprint for the stabilisation of Lebanon, which primarily requires reducing economic inequalities, and curbing other countries’ interference in Beirut’s internal politics.