Lebanon at war: 1975-1990

Though the Lebanese Civil War was the result of social, economic, and political fractures, including a fragile national unity between Christian and Muslim communities, it was also rooted in geopolitical tensions caused by friction between Palestinian, Israeli, Arab, and Western interests. In their book published in 2020, de Clerck and Malsagne offer the first analysis of the conflict through the prism of multiple issues: the role of combatants, civilian resilience, the inner workings of institutions including the militia, and the influence of regional and international factors. This review of the Lebanese tragedy sheds light on the dynamics that have driven post-Cold War conflicts in the former Yugoslavia as well as in the Middle East. By addressing the global dimension of the conflict and drawing on the latest research, the authors provide a new take on a "civil" war whose reverberations are still being felt today.