Lebanese Civil War
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Elections in Lebanon
Despite public anger, Lebanese vote set to entrench status quo
Lebanon's elections on Sunday won't yield a seismic shift, say experts, despite widespread discontent with a corruption-tainted political class blamed for a painful economic crisis and a deadly disaster
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Lebanese thinker Martin Accad
"Lebanon's tragedy is political sectarianism"
With no end to Lebanon's crisis of statehood in sight, Qantara.de met up with leading Lebanese thinker and theologian Martin Accad to discuss the country's current difficulties and explore ongoing efforts to find a way out of the morass. Interview by Erik Siegl
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Lebanon
Santa closed: in Beirut, crisis snuffs out Christmas spirit
Beirut in December was once a shopping extravaganza, where day-long traffic jams clogged streets decked out with flashing Christmas lights and building-sized billboards advertising champagne and jewellery
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Etel Adnan, Lebanese American poet and artist
A woman full of questions and innocence
Etel Adnan, the artist who transcended the borders of culture and language, may have died in Paris, writes Lebanese author Elias Khoury, yet her death holds a mirror up to the stifling rhythm of what Beirut has become. Indeed, every death now seems a metaphor for the death of Beirut
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Marwan Rechmaoui exhibition in Beirut
But the trees kept voting for the axe
The work of artist Marwan Rechmaoui is both minimalist and complex and embodies the faultlines of his home city. Some of his latest pieces are now on show at a leading Beirut gallery – its first exhibition since the explosion that rocked the city last summer. By Lena Bopp
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The legacy of Lebanon's Lokman Slim
"His work lives on in all of us"
German filmmaker Monika Borgmann, widow of slain Lebanese activist Lokman Slim, is continuing the work they began together in Lebanon. By Lea Bartels
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Chaza Charafeddine's "Beirut für wilde Mädchen"
Flashback from Beirut
A childhood and youth in Beirut, a life lived between Lebanon, Switzerland and Germany, and a unique voice in Arabic-language literature: "Beirut für wilde Mädchen" sees Lebanese author Chaza Charafeddine tell her country’s story from a highly personal perspective. Gerrit Wustmann read the book
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Author and critic Elias Khoury
"Lebanon has always rebelled against political repression"
For years the Arab intellectual elite looked to Lebanon, coveting its atmosphere of freedom. Feigning the non-existence of repression, Beirut welcomed intellectuals from across the region, published their works and celebrated them. Yet, even following the murder of Lokman Slim, the powers that be are incapable of controlling everything. An essay by Elias Khoury
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Lebanon and COVID-19
Coronavirus lockdown weighs heavy on a country in crisis
Coronavirus, economic crisis and an unresolved explosion: the situation in Lebanon is tense and a new lockdown is only making things worse for a people already suffering trauma and economic devastation. Diana Hodali reports
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Lebanon slips further into the abyss
The assassination of Lokman Slim – silencing no lamb
Lokman’s killing underlines that the space for dissent is closing fast in Lebanon. Over the past year or so, the political leadership’s tolerance for criticism has been decreasing, with an increasing number of journalists and critics taken into custody. Maha Yahya reflects
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Interview with political scientist Abdalhadi Alijla
Trust in the state is a precious commodity
In his most recent book, "Trust in Divided Societies: State, Institutions and Governance in Lebanon, Syria and Palestine", political scientist Abdalhadi Alijla writes that not culture, but the failure of state institutions is what is causing the crisis of statehood in the Middle East. In this interview with Tugrul von Mende, Alijla argues for the reconfiguration of incompetent state bodies as a means of regaining the public's trust
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Economic crisis in Lebanon
The subsidy quandary
Flour, medicine, fuel … a whole range of essential goods is subsidised in Lebanon. If the subsidies stop, then prices, poverty and the possibility of conflict increases. If they don't, the country runs out of money. Local experts say they have an answer. They just need politicians to act on it. Cathrin Schaer reports from Beirut