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Democracy promotion / Working Paper

Is the EU serious about democracy in Lebanon?

12/08/2008 By Julia Choucair Vizoso

Europe is deeply involved in and affected by the situation in Lebanon. From the European Union’s perspective, Lebanon’s security is vital for the security of the entire Mediterranean region, which is judged to be producing increasingly serious threats to the EU’s own stability and strategic security.

For Europe, Lebanon is not only key to the Arab-Israeli conflict but also holds great symbolic significance as a model of confessional coexistence in a region rife with sectarian tension.

Since the end of the Lebanese civil war, European diplomatic activity has focused on acting as a mediator between internal and regional forces to prevent the disintegration of the Lebanese political system.

This has consisted mainly of an attempt to reinvigorate the Middle East peace process. Furthermore, European external aid has provided Lebanon with significant amounts of financial and technical aid and assistance to promote state reconstruction and institutional reform.

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Publishing groups

How serious is the EU about supporting democracy and human rights in its neighbourhood?

Keywords

Civil society Conflict Democracy promotion European Union Lebanon

Bio author: Julia Choucair Vizoso

Julia Choucair Vizoso is a Ph.D. candidate in Political Science at Yale University and a nonresident associate at FRIDE.