Lebanon and Arabism, 1936–1945

399 Pages·2004·0.2 MB·English

by  Raghid El-Solh

LEBANON AND ARABISM

Lebanon and Arabism:
National Identity and State
Formation
Raghid El-Solh

I.B.Tauris Publishers
LONDON • NEW YORK
in association with
Centre for Lebanese Studies
Published in 2004 by The Centre for Lebanese Studies, Oxford
in association with I.B.Tauris & Co Ltd
6 Salem Road, Bayswater, London W2 4BU
175 Fifth Avenue, New York NY10010
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In the United States and Canada distributed by St Martin’s Press
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Copyright © Raghid El-Solh and The Centre for Lebanese Studies, 2004

All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or any
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of the publisher.

ISBN 1 86064 051 6

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Library of Congress Catalog card: available

Typeset in BerkeleyOldstyle by Oxford Publishing Services
Printed and bound in Great Britain by Biddels Ltd, Guildford and King’s
Lynn
My parents provided the inspiration for my interest in Lebanon and the
Arab world. A good part of the political experience of my late father,
Kazem El-Solh, was recorded in a private paper collection that has
provided additional insight into the subject matter at hand. My mother,
Yesr El-Solh, provided me with a wealth of anecdotes about Lebanese
politics. This book is dedicated to both of them.

Contents
Preface ix
Acknowledgements xi
Note on Transliteration xiii
List of Frequently Used Abbreviations xv
Introduction 1
1. The Treaties with France and their Implications
for Syria and Lebanon 11
2. The Years of the Treaty System 59
3. The Outbreak of the Second World War
and the Dismantling of the Treaty System 99
4. The Anglo-French Condominium 139
5. Independent Lebanon and the Bilateral Talks on Arab Unity 185
6. Greater Lebanon and the League of Arab States 241
Conclusion 287
Epilogue 293
Bibliography 359
Index 367
vii

Preface
This book was originally a thesis submitted in 1986 in fulfilment of the
requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of
Social Studies, University of Oxford. The thesis was researched and
written while Lebanon was plunged into war.
By all accounts, the war was related to the differences among the
Lebanese regarding the subject of Lebanon’s national identity. These
differences had been a dominant factor of Lebanese politics since the
emergence of the Lebanese state. Their intensity militated against
Lebanon’s independence from foreign powers and the development of
parliamentary democracy in the country, and threatened the social and
political fabric of Lebanese society. However, by the mid-1930s, due to
international, regional and local developments, the divergences nar-
rowed down and a process of national reconciliation began to emerge,
culminating in the Lebanese National Pact in 1943. The book con-
centrates on this process, starting in 1936 and ending in 1945, that is,
when the Lebanese seemed to have arrived at a formula to reconcile
Lebanese with Arab nationalism. This formula, incorporated within the
Lebanese National Pact, enabled Lebanon to achieve independence from
France and to be an important player in founding the Arab regional
system.
The 1943 National Pact formula was challenged repeatedly during the
post-Second World War period. These challenges peaked towards the
late 1980s, culminating with the Ta’if Agreement in 1989. New formulae
and approaches were suggested to resolve the differences between the
Lebanese and Arab nationalists. This book attempts to provide students
of Lebanese politics with the opportunity to reflect on and explore the
ix