Beirut (GPA) – What sparked the recent round of protests in Lebanon and how may outside powers benefit from a Lebanese government reshuffling? Editor in chief and founder of Geopolitics Alert appeared on this episode of The Fact to discuss what’s happening in Beirut.
Randi Nord of Geopolitics Alert joined international relations doctoral candidate, Khaled al-Khassimi, and host Ali Ebrahimnia in season 2, episode 28 where they dug a little deeper into the material conditions that created the protests and how international actors like the United States and Israel could benefit from the chaos.
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Back in April of 2019, Geopolitics Alert reported about a secret document detailing Israeli and US plans to foment a civil war in Lebanon by exploiting sectarian divides and splintering the Lebanese Internal Security forces. Is that what’s playing out now on the streets?
Lebanon’s power-sharing government also faces increasing pressure from Saudi and Western powers to expel pro-resistance aligned parties like Hezbollah who gained unprecedented seats in the country’s most recent general election.
It’s worth mentioning that Lebanon’s entire political system functions based on sectarian divides because it was created with heavy colonialist influence from France in the aftermath of Lebanon’s 15-year bloody civil war as part of the Taif Agreement.
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The people of Lebanon are fed up with these sectarian divides, sky-high costs of living, bleak wages and employment opportunities, and widespread corruption. The initial surge of protests was certainly genuine and the Lebanese people have very real grievances — but the situation isn’t so simple.
Watch this important discussion to learn more. Make sure to subscribe to the Vision Plus YouTube channel to stay up to date on all important geopolitical events.
