Defense Strategy | Lebanon | Antoine R. Kanaan | Lebanon Law Review

Defense Strategy: Elusive National Objective


The Lebanese Republic does not currently have a comprehensive Defense Strategy. This paper explores the reasons for this oversight and the legal and constitutional mechanisms surrounding such a policy. Finally, this paper proposes a Defense Strategy for the Lebanese Republic. Not comprehensive by any means, this proposed Defense Strategy nevertheless discusses Lebanon’s assets in light of its geopolitical status and posits propositions in the matter of geography, military, water security, economy, human capital, intelligence, and finally oil & gas. This proposition has a self-admitted hamartia – it does not account for Hezbollah and other armed groups, as to do so would be impossible given the diplomatic intricacy and sensitivity of the matter. Indeed, the matter of Hezbollah and other armed groups is one of the main reasons why there is no Lebanese Defense Strategy to begin with. The Lebanese Republic must determine whether or not Hezbollah et al. are a national asset or a national threat, something that it has so far failed to do. This paper does not take a position on the matter.

The Lebanese Republic does not currently have a comprehensive Defense Strategy. This paper explores the reasons for this oversight and the legal and constitutional mechanisms surrounding such a policy. Finally, this paper proposes a Defense Strategy for the Lebanese Republic. Not comprehensive by any means, this proposed Defense Strategy nevertheless discusses Lebanon’s assets in light of its geopolitical status and posits propositions in the matter of geography, military, water security, economy, human capital, intelligence, and finally oil & gas. This proposition has a self-admitted hamartia – it does not account for Hezbollah and other armed groups, as to do so would be impossible given the diplomatic intricacy and sensitivity of the matter. Indeed, the matter of Hezbollah and other armed groups is one of the main reasons why there is no Lebanese Defense Strategy to begin with. The Lebanese Republic must determine whether or not Hezbollah et al. are a national asset or a national threat, something that it has so far failed to do. This paper does not take a position on the matter.

الاستراتيجية الدفاعية: من اجل نقاش وطني وعلمي


تتردد السلطة في لبنان في فتح ورشة “الاستراتيجية الدفاعية” بالرغم من الجدل السياسي الواسع حول هذا المفهوم او ربما بسبب تسييسه الى اقصى الحدود مما يجعل منه مادة لتغذية الانقسامات الداخلية. فللبنان استراتيجية دفاعية عسكرية يحددها الدستور وتسهر على تنفيذها السلطات الامنية والعسكرية تحت رقابة ومسؤولية السلطات السياسية وضمن توجيهاتها. لكنها استراتيجية منقوصة : فهي […]

Is Grand Strategy Grand Enough?


An Introduction to the Grand Strategies of Nations International Relations Grand Strategy is a political term that complicates many. It sounds ambitious but really it’s just a method to resolve specific kinds of complications. Grand strategy’s focal attraction is that it proposes the probability of determining events rather than being determined by them. Some grand […]