The UN Foreign Aid for Lebanon Analysis Essay

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The Middle Eastern region has always been the place of endless wars and local conflicts resulting in a great number of victims and triggering new skirmishers. Events which happen on these lands are not occasional and arise from the inefficient and unwise colonial policy used by countries that dominated in this region. They did not take into account peculiarities of local culture and mentality, acting in the way which made various oppositions even more complicated. Under the influence of the WWII, Europeans had to leave this very territory, given independence to a great number of new countries created regardless of the peculiarities of culture. This process could be taken as the starting point of all conflicts which happened there.

Lebanon is one of the countries which obtained independence from France due to the WWII. At that period of time the country was characterized by a great variety of cultures and mentalities of the locals. Being a multiconfessional state, Lebanon provided equal rights to all its citizens trying to guarantee its stable and beneficial development (Altman, 2013). The combination of this policy, advantageous geographical location and other facts promoted the rapid growth of the country which turned into the most important state of the region. The country was often compared with Switzerland because of its financial power and diversity. However, the period of peace and stable development was interrupted by the civil war and the chain of other military conflicts which ruined the infrastructure and led to the appearance of the need for some foreign aid (Nagel & Staeheli, 2015).

Speaking about the wars and conflicts which had a great impact on the country, it is possible to admit the role of foreign countries and United Nations in the attempts to make the compromise and renew development of the country. The Civil War resulted in a great number of civilian causalities and destruction of cities. Beirut, the capital of the state, lied in ruins and the infrastructure was destroyed. Financial power and stability were depleted and the country needed the help of the UN in order to recover from the effects of the war. However, it was not the last military conflict in the region. The weakened government was not able to resist various terrorist groups which managed to take some provinces under their control. This fact led to the 2006 Lebanon, or July, war. Being attacked by the terrorists from Lebanon, Israel started the military campaign aiming to protect its regions and eliminate the terrorist threat.

Analyzing the effect these wars have on the country, it is possible to outline several points. First of all, prosperous and powerful Lebanon changed into the devastated state characterized by a very unstable situation and a great terrorist threat. Traditionally attractive to tourists who guaranteed about 15% of the states GDP, Lebanon was not able to renew its image because of the destroyed infrastructure and inability to guarantee security to people arriving there (Abboud, & Muller, 2013). Besides, another very important consequence is the religious opposition between various faith communities which appeared after the Civil War (Pearlman, 2013). The given challenges introduced the necessity of the foreign aid which was taken as the only possibility to renew the state and establish peace in the region.

Resting on these facts, it is possible to say that the UNs interference in the policy of the state and its affairs seems to be a quite logical step. There are several aspects of the foreign aid provided to the country. First of all, it is the military assistance as the peacekeeping forces were brought to the territory in order to stabilize the situation and help to oppose the terrorist threat. However, it was not the main aspect in the relations between Lebanon and the United Nations. According to annual reports, by the end of 2014 Lebanon received about $710.2 million (UNESCO, n.d.). The main aim of these donations was to guarantee the stable development of the country and restore the infrastructure destroyed in the years of war.

With this in mind, it is possible to say that United Nations play an important role in the process of restoration of Lebanon. The USA and France, traditionally having the great interest for the given region, devote great attention to the current situation in the state (Schwalbe, 2015). They could be taken as the very active actors who are interested in the creation of powerful state and renewal of Lebanons financial power and stability as it could help to promote the influence on the other countries of the Middle Eastern region and fight with various terrorist groups. Suffering from a great number of economic problems, Lebanon, however, manages to continue its growth and development and has good perspectives.

Revolving around the development of Lebanon, it is impossible not to mention the actions of the government and its role in the given process. It should be said that because of the peculiarities of military conflicts, the government is divided into the adherers and opponents of relations with Syria (AbouAssi, 2015). The political system of the country is organized according to the confessional principle and, that is why, it reflects the opposition which exists in the country. However, despite the great number of controversies which exist between various political parties, the government managed to start the process of the restoration of Lebanon with the help of foreign donations, building the infrastructure and supporting the financial sector.

Besides, despite some successes in the sphere of economy, living conditions remain poor in Lebanon. According to statistics, about 28% of Lebanese people live under the poor conditions (UNESCO, n.d.). This fact means that the situation remains difficult and the state still needs humanitarian and financial help in order to guarantee good conditions for its citizens. United Nations continues to help the country, providing various programs aiming at the further development of the state. Nevertheless, the region remains unstable and there is much to be done in order to improve the situation and help Lebanon to renew its financial power.

Having analyzed the given facts, it is possible to make a certain conclusion. It should be said that nowadays Lebanon has a great number of various problems which result from military conflicts. The state is supported by the UN and receives foreign aid. The main goal of the sponsors is to renew the financial and tourist sectors that guaranteed stable income or the state and helped it to be a serious power in the region. Taking into account a great terrorist threat which exists in the region, it is possible to conclude that it is extremely vital to restore the power of Lebanon for it to be able to control the territory and fight against various terrorist groups.

References

AbouAssi, K. (2015). Special-purpose authorities: a welcomed alien to decentralization in Lebanon? International Review of Administrative Sciences, 23-75.

Abboud, S., & Muller, B. (2013). Geopolitics, insecurity and neocolonial exceptionalism: A critical appraisal of the UN Special Tribunal for Lebanon. Security Dialogue, 44(5), 467-484.

Altman, M. (2013). Understanding Development. Asheville, NC: Soomo Publishing.

Nagel, C., & Staeheli, N. (2015). Nature, environmentalism, and the politics of citizenship in post-civil war Lebanon. Cultural Geographies, 22. 26-76.

Pearlman, W. (2013). Emigration and Power. A Study of Sects in Lebanon, 1860–2010. Politics & Society, 41(1), 103-133.

Schwalbe, C. (2015). Visual coverage of the 2006 Lebanon War: Framing conflict in three US news magazines. Media, War & Conflict, 8(1), 141-162.

UNESCO. (n.d.). Lebanon Millenium Development Goals Report 2013-2014. Web

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