Reforming the consociational system. (c2014)

Abstract

This thesis aims to contribute to the ongoing debate about Lebanon’s constitutional design. By taking liberal consociational theory as a starting point, it explores where the present power-sharing system deviates from what the theory recommends. After determining that the Lebanese consociation is corporate overall and fails to meet the recommendations of group autonomy and proportional representation, it examines how the lack of these elements prevents stability and democratic governance. Consequently, it argues how a further implementation of liberal consociational theory by reforming towards a more decentralized state and a more proportional representation of the Lebanese population can lead to a more effective power-sharing system. The conclusion that follows from this research is therefore that consociationalism should not be abandoned in Lebanon but reformed and further implemented along the lines of its liberal variant.