US–Lebanese Relations in the 21st Century

Abstract

The literature on U.S. Middle East policy in the wake of the 11 September 2001 attacks has grown voluminous, and it is not the intention of this article to add to it any further. Rather, the article shifts the spotlight from the United States, the superpower, to Lebanon, a small and vulnerable country. Focusing on the period from 2000 to 2005, it examines Lebanon's reactions to a range of U.S. demands and pressures concerning the situation in South Lebanon, the financing of terrorism, Hezbollah, and Syria's role in Lebanon. In addition to providing an in-depth analysis of an important aspect of Lebanon's foreign relations in the 21st century, it addresses two important issues in the study of international relations: Why do small states occasionally defy the wishes of a superpower? And with what consequences?