Social Classes and Political Power in Lebanon

Heinrich Boll Stiftung

In Lebanon, where classes are denied, economic and political power intertwine in a rentier and sectarian system that deepens exploitation and leads to a "mafiocracy" increasing social polarization.

The financial-merchant oligarchy in Lebanon

The Consortium: thirty families ruled independent Lebanon — the Pharaon-Chiha Bank made the president, and Chiha's five sisters married into the oligarchy to protect wealth.

Lebanese Oligarchy

Lebanon's oligarchy: Pharaon-Chiha Bank manufactured Khuri's presidency and placed three-quarters of parliament on its payroll—and Michel Chiha was both banker and chief ideologue.

The Lebanese System Revisited

The Lebanese system was "globalized before globalization"—it was not coexistence that produced prosperity but economic expansion, and when it was unevenly distributed, war followed. The alternative: "Security by providing bread for everybody."

Palestine In The “Fatal Triangle”

Chiha reduced Palestine from a "project of planetary domination" to "difficulties"—and for the first and last time, he defended industry.