As part of the Notre Dame University-Louaize (NDU) three-year project (2017-2020) on the centurial commemoration of the Declaration of Greater Lebanon, the Faculty of Law and Political Science (FLPS) at NDU, in cooperation with the Konrad-Adenauer Stiftung (FAS) Foundation, organized it second roundtable on “Consociational Democracy” to discuss a paper published by Associate Professor at NDU Dr. Elie al-Hindy tilted, “Consociational Democracy After 100 Years: A Blessing or A Curse.”
This series of roundtables aims to discuss research papers, bringing together legal scholars and representatives of government institutions, in order to revisit and discuss achievements and challenges during the past 100 years, and to provide for an inclusive exchange of views of present representatives from academics, legal scholars, and representatives of government institutions.
Sectarianism has been a key aspect of Lebanese politics over the past 100 years and surfaced again in the recently-held parliamentary elections. The constitution and organic laws, however, only hesitantly addressed this problem. While some voices claim that the Lebanese state has failed to provide citizens with the necessary tools to build an overarching national identity that unites them beyond sect and religion, others suggest that this diversity and plurality is what constitutes the Lebanese identity with no need to go any further.
For his intervention, Dean of Law and Political and Administrative Sciences at the Lebanese University Dr. Camille Habib presented a paper titled, “Consociationalism or Continuous Truce: The Case of Lebanon. “ Professor of International Law and political activism expert Dr. Karim el-Mufti presented his paper titled, “Powersharing, Legitimacy, Stability in Post-Conflict Lebanon.” Human Rights expert, researcher, and political consultant Jean-Pierre Katrib delivered an address on “Developing the Lebanese Political System Away from Tyranny and Secession.”
An open discussion with the participating experts and researchers then followed.
Dr. Al-Hindy’s paper and five other research papers along with the findings of the consecutive roundtables will be presented in a national conference slated for 2020 and published in a book, commemorating the occasion.