Stimson - US Institute of Peace Lebanon Working Group

 

Lebanon Working Group: An Overview | Areas of Focus | Meetings

Public Events | Partners | Lebanon Working Group Staff

Lebanon Working Group: An Overview

In a new joint initiative, the Stimson Center is co-sponsoring the Lebanon Working Group with the US Institute of Peace (USIP). The Lebanon Working Group was created in the aftermath of the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war as a USIP-led effort to help coordinate reconstruction. Over time, the Working Group evolved to address the numerous complex issues that characterize Lebanon, but resonate well beyond its borders. These issues include sectarianism, political and economic reform, and broader conflict-related questions with a regional focus.

In November 2011, the Stimson Center joined USIP as a co-sponsor of the Lebanon Working Group. The Stimson Center's Mona Yacoubian and USIP's Lucy Kurtzer-Ellenbogen co-direct the Working Group, which is comprised of representatives from the US Government, think-tanks, academic institutions, and NGOs working on Lebanon. Meetings are primarily by invitation only and are off-the-record. The Lebanon Working Group occasionally sponsors public events.

Areas of Focus

In 2012, the joint Stimson-USIP Lebanon Working Group will focus on various aspects of conflict in Lebanon, as well as repercussions for the region. Lebanon sits astride several major fault lines  that characterize the Middle East. In particular, it embodies sectarian tensions, especially Sunni-Shia tensions as well as those between the Muslim and Christian communities.  Lebanon also serves as an arena for both global and regional conflicts.  It remains a front line state at war with Israel, as well as a proxy battlefield for the ongoing conflict between the United States and Iran.  Finally, while Lebanon has not directly experienced the upheaval of the Arab Spring, Syria's uprising has certainly had an impact on Lebanon.  With these issues in mind, the Lebanon Working Group will focus on the following three themes over the coming months:

    • Lebanon as a potential arena for emerging regional and international conflict, with a particular emphasis on the impact of Syria's deepening crisis and escalating tensions between the West and Iran;
    • Lebanon as a microcosm for rising sectarian tensions in the Middle East: Sunni-Shia, Sunni-Alawi, and Muslim-Christian in particular; and
    • Lebanon's role vis-a-vis the Arab-Israeli conflict, especially the prospect for renewed conflict between Lebanon and Israel.

    Meetings

    ""The Economic Implications of the Syrian Uprising for Lebanon," November 13, 2012, Former Prime Minister and current Member of Parliament, Fouad Siniora

    "Lebanon's Broadening Humanitarian Crisis in the Shadow of the Syrian Conflict," October 5, 2012, Jacob Kurtzer, International Committee of the Red Cross, and Michael Shaikh, Center for Civilians in Conflict.

    "Prospects for Renewed Hostilities between Israel and Lebanon," July 30, 2012, Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer, Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University and former US Ambassador to Egypt and Israel and Dr. Randa Slim, Scholar, Middle East Institute

    "Understanding Sectarian Tensions in the wake of the Syrian Uprising," June 7, 2012, Alistair Harris, Director, Pursue and Robert Malley, Program Director, Middle East and North Africa, International Crisis Group

    "A Discussion with Ambassador Maura Connelly," March 21, 2012

    “Iran's Role in Lebanon,” February 24, 2012, Ellen Laipson, President and CEO, Stimson Center, and Aram Nerguizian, Visiting Fellow, Burke Chair in Strategy, Center for Strategic and International Studies

    “Hezbollah's Evolution Since the 2006 Lebanon-Israel War,” November 18, 2011, Nicholas Blanford, Beirut correspondent, Christian Science Monitor and Times of London

    Public Events

    "Lebanon and the Arab Spring: A Congressional View" with Representative Charles Boustany, May 10, 2011. Click here to listen.

    "Crisis in Lebanon: Sectarian Politics, Regional Dynamics and the U.N. Special Tribunal," December 8, 2010. Click here to listen.

    "Promoting Political Reform in Lebanon," September 29, 2010. Click here to listen to part one, and click here to listen to part two.

    "Lebanon's Municipal Elections: Prospects for Reform," May 7, 2010, U.S. Institute of Peace

    "Assessing the Impact of Lebanon's Parliamentary Elections," June 15, 2009. Click here to listen.

    "Is Lebanon Sliding Toward a New Civil War?" May 15, 2008. Click here to listen.

    Partners

    For more information on the US Institute of Peace, click here.

    Middle East/Southwest Asia Program Director

    Ellen Laipson is president and chief executive officer of Stimson. She also directs the Middle East/Southwest Asia program, and focuses in particular on security issues in the Gulf region. Laipson joined Stimson in 2002, after 25 years of government service. Read More >>

    Lebanon Working Group Co-Director

    Mona Yacoubian joined the Stimson Center in 2011. She previously served as a Special Advisor and Senior Program Officer on the Middle East at the US Institute of Peace where her work focused on Lebanon and Syria as well as broader issues related to democratization in the Arab world. Ms.Yacoubian has worked as a consultant on the Middle East for several years.  From 1990-1997, she served as the North Africa analyst at the US Department of State. Read More >>