ABSTRACT

This article studies the reforms undertaken within the Lebanese state during the term of president Fouad Chehab (1958–1964) and their effects on Lebanese politics and bureaucracy. The article demonstrates that, while there were many positive results that came from these changes, the vision behind them, the methods of their execution, as well as the short time in which they were enforced, made them unsustainable as a long-term solution for Lebanese clientelism and corruption. Inherently, these reforms – though desperately needed – were not in any sense radical, and Chehab’s loyalty to the country and his army, combined with his distaste for politics, meant that the implementation of change came at the cost of long-term planning and the improvement of administrative culture. In addition, the measures that accompanied the army’s involvement in politics clashed with the Lebanese power-sharing system, and did not materialise into real democratic change. Ultimately, the degree to which Chehab’s reforms challenged many of the traditional Lebanese elite, and alienated much of the Lebanese population, resulted in a very tense socio-political situation that would break down only a few years later.

摘要

本文研究了福阿德·切哈卜 (Fouad Chehab) 总统 (1958-1964) 任期内黎巴嫩国家内部进行的改革及其对黎巴嫩政治和官僚机构的影响。文章表明，虽然这些变化产生了许多积极的结果，但它们背后的愿景、执行方法以及执行时间很短，使它们作为长期解决方案不可持续黎巴嫩的客户主义和腐败。本质上，这些改革——尽管迫切需要——在任何意义上都不是激进的，切哈布对国家和军队的忠诚，加上他对政治的厌恶，意味着变革的实施是以长期规划和提升行政文化。此外，伴随军队参与政治的措施与黎巴嫩的权力分享制度发生冲突，并没有实现真正的民主变革。最终，Chehab 的改革在多大程度上挑战了许多传统的黎巴嫩精英，并疏远了大部分黎巴嫩人，导致了一种非常紧张的社会政治局势，仅在几年后就会崩溃。