Middle East Media and Book Reviews Online Volume 1, Issue 2

2/2/2016 Middle East Media and Book Reviews Online In Chapter 4, State Elites and the Legacy of Corruption, el-Husseini presents useful information about the well-known corruption of the Lebanese political elite. The weakness of this chapter is the weak connection between “corruption,” “youth emigration” and “brain drain” (p. 119). In exactly two pages and with seven end notes, the author indicts the Lebanese political elite stating that “the phenomena [youth emigration and brain drain] did not seem to bother the political elites” she interviewed (p. 120). El-Husseini simply does not marshal enough evidence to warrant this broad assertion and the concomitant unsubtle indignation. Chapter 5, Strategic Elite, is an examination of the “strategic elite” that include “military commanders, religious leaders, and important journalists” (p. 122). The focus of the book is on Pax Syriana, the period that began with the Taif Agreement and ended in 2005; yet, much of the focus is on leaders from the First Republic period. There is a focus on Imam Musa Sadr who disappeared in Libya in 1978. There is no mention of the deputy president of the Shi‘ite Higher Council, Mufti Abdul Ameer Qabalan, a leader of the Shi‘ite community who played an important role during Pax Syriana. Mufti Qabalan has been an ally of Speaker Nabih Berri who would make declarations about “numerical democracy” seemingly timed to increase the anxiety of Christian leaders when the issue of Taif-mandated Syrian redeployment was brought up. These statements helped the Syrian regime sell its presence as a guarantee to parity in the division of power between Christians and Muslims. As to the personalities from the press, she chose two anti-Syrian regime personalities—Samir Qassir and Gebran Tueni. But weren’t pro-Syrian regime journalists as important as the antiSyrian regime in shaping and perpetuating Pax Syriana? In Chapter 6, Emerging Elites and the Absence of Women From Politics, el-Husseini provides an insightful discussion of the reasons for the “quasi absence” of Lebanese women from politics: 1) “The patriarchal and personalized structure of the Lebanese political system;” 2) “The traditionally masculine connotations of patron-client relations;” 3)“The contempt that many women have acquired for politics in general;” and 4)“Women’s lack of experience and confidence in the political realm” (p.169). She develops a useful typology of “emerging elite”: The “civil servant activist,” “the technocrat,” “the academic,” “the local representative,” “the heir,” “young elites within the primary Lebanese political party, Hezbollah” and “the nationalist militant” (p.171). In the last chapter of the book, Elite Attitudes on Syria and Sectarianism, el-Husseini discusses the “two central topics of concern” that emerged from her elite interviews: “Lebanese-Syrian relations” and “deconfessionalization” (p.187). Asking the elite about their attitude towards Syria as such is not the best way to ask the question about the Syrian regime intervention in Lebanon—about Pax Syriana. It is not a shock finding that there is a convergence on Syria between the two divided camps (p. 197). Syria is not Israel. The proper balance and how to deal with the imbalance was the divisive issue. As to the second part of the chapter, the future of political system, she finds that there is no convergence on “the future of Lebanon’s system of confessional power sharing” (p. 197). The author reports that the Shi‘a elite are the biggest supporters of deconfessionalizing the political system. El-Hussieni, unfortunately, uncritically agrees with her Shi‘a informants’ demographic supremacy claim, thus helping to perpetuate the myth that the Shi‘a are the “majority” of the population of Lebanon (p. 208). The Shi‘a of Lebanon are neither the majority of the population, nor even the largest demographic group. In the absence of a national census, the most reliable data are the government voter lists that show that the Sunnis are the largest community in Lebanon. I strongly recommend this book because it fills a gap in the literature on Lebanon’s elite politics. In a relatively small book, el-Husseini manages to give the reader a nuanced understanding of the Lebanon elite’s political past, present and possible future direction. Given the fact that the Taif Agreement is the founding document of the Second Republic, if this book were to go into a second printing, this reviewer recommends that it include the Taif Agreement in the Appendix. Overall, this book is useful as a secondary book on Middle East politics, or as a primary book on Lebanese politics. Some of the chapters are useful for other classes as well, including the chapter on women and politics which would be helpful in a class on international relations or women and politics. Middle East Media and Book Reviews Online http://localhost/membr/review.php?id=53 2/2

Middle East Media and Book Reviews Online Volume 1, Issue 2 | Page 16