In Lebanon, political leadership and representation are officially divided up according to religious affiliation. This system, confessionalism, is supposed to encourage peace and cooperation between disparate faiths.

Abdsayady92 [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
This institutional lean towards the Christian inhabitants of Lebanon contributed to a long civil war, from 1975 until 1990. At the conclusion of that war, the Taif Agreement redrew the political boundaries so that Christian and Muslim inhabitants had equal representation in parliament.
Categories: History Middle East Modern history Places Politics & law Religion & belief
The Generalist
I live in Auckland, New Zealand, and am curious about most things.
1 reply ›