Failing Consociationalism in Lebanon and Integrative Options (Essay‪)‬

Lebanese Governing System and the Crisis of Consociationalism Lebanon has come to satisfy the conditions under which most consociational systems have arisen. In 1943, the Lebanese National Covenant (Al-Methak Al-Watany) established corporate consociationalism as the de jure power sharing arrangement between the various confessions within the state. These conditions have been defined as the presence of distinct social cleavages, a multiple balance-of-power between the various groupings within the country, public attitudes accepting of government by grand coalition, a light load on the political system, and a small size that precludes an active foreign policy (Jabbra and Jabbra, 2001: 71-77).