Editorial Type:
Article Category: Research Article
| Online Publication Date: 14 Mar 2011
U.S.–Lebanese Relations in the 21st Century: A View from Beirut
U.S.–Lebanese Relations in the 21st Century: A View from Beirut
Page Range: 196 – 219
The literature on U.S. Middle East policy in the wake of the 11 September 2001 attacks has grown voluminous, and it is not the intention of this article to add to it any further. Rather, the article shifts the spotlight from the United States, the superpower, to Lebanon, a small and vulnerable country. Focusing on the period from 2000 to 2005, it examines Lebanon's reactions to a range of U.S. demands and pressures concerning the situation in South Lebanon, the financing of terrorism, Hezbollah, and Syria's role in Lebanon. In addition to providing an in-depth analysis of an important aspect of Lebanon's foreign relations in the 21st century, it addresses two important issues in the study of international relations: Why do small states occasionally defy the wishes of a superpower? And with what consequences? La littérature traitant de la politique des États-Unis au Moyen-Orient suite aux attaques du 11 septembre 2001 est volumineuse, et notre intention n'est pas d'y ajouter un autre travail. Il s'agit plutôt de déplacer l'éclairage depuis les États-Unis, la superpuissance, vers le Liban, un pays petit et vulnérable. En ciblant la période entre 2000 et 2005, l'article examine les réactions du Liban à une série d'exigences et de pressions américaines concernant la situation au Sud-Liban, le financement du terrorisme, le Hezbollah et le rôle de la Syrie au Liban. À l'analyse approfondie d'un aspect important des relations étrangères du Liban au XXIe siècle, cet article examine également deux thèmes importants concernant l'étude des relations internationales : pourquoi de petits pays défient-ils parfois les souhaits d'une superpuissance, et avec quelles conséquences?
Keywords: United States; Lebanon; Middle East; Syria; Hezbollah; États-Unis; Liban; Moyen-Orient; Syrie; Hezbollah
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