The political economy of postwar reconstruction in Lebanon. (c2011)

Abstract

Postwar reconstruction has attracted the attention of many scholars in the last few decades. Different theories offer alternative routes to postwar reconstruction. Some theories suggest that postwar reconstruction entails financial security and policy, while others contend that reconstruction programs cannot be effective without building state institutions as a precondition for fiscal security. Lebanon is an important test case for theories of postwar reconstruction. This thesis examines postwar reconstruction in Lebanon. It does so by examining closely the late Prime Minister Rafik Hariri’s economic plan “Horizon 2000”, its outlines, goals, origins, contents, and financing. It aims at analyzing how its adoption molded and reshaped the economic and political postwar system in Lebanon, and to evaluate its effectiveness and underscore its shortcomings. This examination will be placed in the broader context of the literature on postwar reconstruction. Specifically, the thesis interrogates the impact of Hariri’s economic choices on postwar state building, clientalism, corruption, and sectarianism.