Mapping the World

Lebanon: Others' Wars

For over forty years, Lebanon seems to be the sounding board for all the conflicts in the Middle East: the Palestine Liberation Organization guerrillas, the rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia, the Syrian civil war, the Israel-Hamas war. The cause is notably its political system which favors community logic and often foreign interference. Lebanon, this small, rugged country that has long been called the "Switzerland of the Middle East," has changed a lot over the decades and wars. Its political life is now dominated by Hezbollah, a Shiite religious organization in thrall to Iran and at almost constant war with Israel. A true state within a state that has become a key player in regional geopolitics.