Abstract:

In its political history, Lebanon has been a country where religious and sectarian differences have come to the fore. These differences have had an impact on Lebanese political, economic and socio-cultural life as well as Lebanese foreign policy. This study argues that until the assassination of Rafik Hariri, "Lebanese foreign policy and Syrian-Lebanese relations were influenced by domestic political factors in Lebanon, while regional/global problems in the Middle East directly/indirectly affected Lebanese foreign policy and Lebanese-Syrian relations". In its relations with Syria, Lebanon is a country whose domestic factors are shaped together with foreign political processes, is known as the capital of crises and civil wars and is home to the Syrian-Israeli conflict. In other words, Lebanese domestic and foreign policy cannot be considered independent from Syria and Israel. However, Lebanon is the epitome of the Middle East and has been in the sphere of interest of both local, regional and global actors. In this study, the manifestations of external factors in Lebanon's domestic politics will be discussed by presenting the historical background necessary to understand the current debates, the importance of Lebanon for Syria, the reflection of the changing structure of the Middle East after the Iraq War on Lebanese-Syrian-Israeli relations, the assassination of Rafik Hariri and the consequences of the political division in Lebanon after the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon. In the study, this historical process is analyzed from an analytical perspective, and the relations between the actors and their consequences are analyzed from the perspective of Lebanon, Syria and the Middle East.

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