الاكثرية والاقلية: في شروط السجال ومعانيه

Majority and Minority: On the Terms of Debate and Their Meanings

As-Safir

He who plays with the cat of politics must bear its scratches—the solution is two chambers and proportional voting. But the "majority" for change hasn't reached "minority" level.

اليمن في سجال الخلاصية والقمع

Yemen in the Debate Between Messianism and Repression

As-Safir

The Houthis are banned from "interfering in their own province's affairs" and southerners from managing theirs—the regime promises to end poverty in the Arab world's poorest country.

وليد جنبلاط: هل أن تكرار الخطأ فضيلة؟

Walid Jumblatt: Is Repeating the Mistake a Virtue?

As-Safir

Jumblatt didn't reverse course—he announced a failed coup. He miscalculated everything and now waves "socialism." You get the rulers you deserve.

فزاعة التوطين اوعودة المكبوت

The Scarecrow of Tawtin, or the Return of the Repressed

As-Safir

The "resettlement" scarecrow ignited a 15-year war and the sentence was never finished — is there another way to end it?

فزاعة التوطين – او عودة المكبوت

The Scarecrow of Tawtin - Or the Return of the Repressed

As-Safir

The Kataeb "put a period" on resettlement in 1975—so why did the war last 15 years? "Resettlement" is a scarecrow traded by leaders who can decide nothing.

سؤال أمني بسيط

A Simple Security Question

As-Safir

Militias terrorize neighborhoods celebrating their masters' appointments—the masters then order their own supporters arrested, and the republic races toward hereditary rule.

النظام الايراني – بين دين ودنيا

The Iranian Regime - Between Religion and Worldly Affairs

As-Safir

"Where is my vote?"—protesters carry Mousavi and Mossadegh: deeper democracy without American intervention. Rights are seized in the streets, at a high price.

رابح لن يحكم وخاسر لن يعارض

The Winner Will Not Govern and the Loser Will Not Oppose

As-Safir

The winner won't govern and the loser won't oppose — the pioneer of "crushing" Christian monopoly was Bashir Gemayel. Out of the mouths of babes.

الحراك الجنوبي اليمني: الوحدة في الديمقراطية

The Yemeni Southern Movement: Unity Through Democracy

As-Safir

Yemeni unity is in deep crisis after the 1994 war imposed northern dominance over the south, pushing the "Southern Movement" to demand democratic federalism as the only way to save unity from secession and chaos.

١٣ نيسان: عندما لا تكفي الذاكرة

April 13: When Memory Is Not Enough

As-Safir

Imagine the Kataeb choosing dialogue—would the bus incident have ignited 15 years? Memory isn't enough without learning the lessons.

Genealogy: Science or Practical Illusion?

Genealogy is "practical illusion" per Ibn Khaldun: its utility lies not in knowledge but in cementing solidarity and "social honor"—and families accept from their own history only what pleases them.

الانتخابات بما هي مباراة كرة قدم

Elections as a Football Match

As-Safir

The electoral battle is a football match — but teachers and workers are playing on a different field, beyond sect or camp.

المرأة العربية زمن الردّة

Arab Women in Times of Reaction

As-Safir

Arab women are the scapegoat of Arab defeats—which are male defeats. The backlash is temporal, not cultural, though it invokes both as alibis.

آذار الغدّار

Treacherous March

As-Safir

While all agree on the "Strong State" slogan with contradictory meanings, Lebanese alignments appear anomalous amidst regional shifts that "Treacherous March" might overturn.

الحصار

The Siege

As-Safir

The political class breeds its deficit the way people breed sheep—and most Lebanese now love life only if they can find a way to it.

وثيقة حزب اﷲ: هل النظام من الايمان؟

Hezbollah's Document: Is the System a Matter of Faith?

As-Safir

Hezbollah declares confessionalism "the fundamental problem" then adopts it. "Order is part of faith"—but is this order, run by big bankers, faith or unbelief?

اعتذار من قمر مشغرة

An Apology from the Moon of Mashghara

As-Safir

His head dropped in Beirut, not Mashghara—he pays taxes there but can't vote there. His granddaughter must vote in a village she's never visited.

من »الطائف« الى »الدوحة« وما بعد

From Taif to Doha and Beyond

As-Safir

Correcting Taif by reverting to the First Republic: pounding water with water—the entire system desperately needs change.

إنهيار في بورصة المصالحات

Collapse on the Reconciliation Exchange

As-Safir

The amnesty pardons the killers of 87,000 civilians but punishes a handful of political assassins—in tribal reconciliations, sheep are slaughtered: who are the sheep here?

Do Collective Rights Contribute to Conflict Resolution? The case of Lebanon

Politicized sects are enlarged patronage networks shielding members from the market and covering predation—and the solution lies in the existing constitution: a Senate for sects, a non-sectarian House for citizens, plus social justice.

تاريخ لكل اللبنانيين

A History for All the Lebanese

Qantara.de

A book on the history of modern Lebanon transcends sectarian narratives, revealing how France and then the Taif Agreement entrenched political sectarianism after Lebanese people historically revolted together against injustice.

A Collective History for Lebanon

Qantara.de

The solid confessional blocs only emerged in the mid-19th century — before that, leaders were secular, and in 1820, Christians, Druze, Shia, and Sunnis rebelled together against taxes.

For an Arab-Kurdish Federation in Iraq

An-Nahar

Translation: Iraqi federalism should be based on the national divide, not the sectarian one—and the occupation destroyed the state, not just the regime. Kirkuk's oil belongs to all Iraqis.

أعيدوا الينا الرئاسة!

Give Us Back the Presidency!

As-Safir

Give back the presidency to the citizens—last month they waited for war on Iran, now for a "password" from Ankara. The solution: direct popular election.