Abstract:
Third World states face a host of overlapping external and domestic threats.
This thesis examines the causes and consequences of Lebanon’s insecurity dilemma,
and looks at Lebanon’s relationship with Syria from a security complex perspective. Using an eclectic theoretical approach, the thesis investigates the structural,
institutional, psychological and social causes of Lebanon’s insecurity dilemma, and the latter’s impact on state institutions, state-society relations, and Lebanon’s relations with Syria. This thesis demonstrates how Lebanon’s insecurity dilemma creates a self-perpetuating confessional system that exposes the country to external
interventions. Accordingly, this thesis also considers whether it is possible to escape the trap of the insecurity dilemma in the future.
