Days after an enormous explosion tore through the city of Beirut, leaving at least 170 people dead and thousands injured, Lebanon’s cabinet last week resigned. Lebanon’s confessional-based political system lies at the heart of its dysfunctional governance. This system ought to have disappeared within the first parliament after the civil war ended. But Lebanon’s political parties had no interest in dismantling the system of patronage. Lebanon’s political system relies on foreign powers, which back local proxies.

Source: The Guardian August 16, 2020 17:26 UTC