This research paper discusses the reasons behind Syria's interventions in Lebanon since 1976, its justifications therefor and the consequences of the Syrian presence there.
As instructed by Syrian dictator Hafez al-Asad (r. 1970-2000), Syria intervened militarily and politically in Lebanon's civil wars. On a number of occasions, it played an influential and at times decisive role in 'settling' communal conflicts in Lebanon which nevertheless persist to the present day. Syria did so for a variety of geostrategic and other reasons. As a consequence by the time civil order was largely restored in Lebanon in 1990, Syria emerged as the ultimate arbiter of the affairs of Lebanon, which the Syrians increasingly treat as a colony. Lebanon has made a remarkable comeback economically from the devastation wrought by its civil wars. That progress is inhibited by the continuing involvement of the Syrians in Lebanese affairs. As Syria's statist economy has continued to languish, despite some efforts to introduce market-oriented reforms, Syria continues to prey on Lebanon in a parasitic fashion. Following Asad's death in 2000, protests against Syria's presence in Lebanon have mounted, mostly from Maronite Christian and Druze sources; however, any restoration of full Lebanese political and economic independence would appear to be stalled unless and until the successor regime of Bashar Asad either makes peace with Israel or otherwise feels compelled by international pressures to withdraw its forces from Lebanon.
Background to Syrian Intervention in Lebanon
For many centuries contemporary Lebanon was a province of Greater Syria. Administered as such for hundreds of years by the Ottoman Empire, Lebanon achieved a small measure of autonomy in the late 19th century. After it was awarded a League of Nations Mandate over Syria, France in 1920 carved out an autonomous province, 'le Gran Liban,' (Greater Lebanon) which included for the first time...