Civil War

Lebanon has seen political stagnation and sectarian tensions for years. Additionally, the country is deeply affected by the war in Syria. To gain a more nuanced understanding of the situation in the country, the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung organized a study tour to Lebanon in October 2016.

If you cannot overthrow the tyrant, co-operate with him – after four disastrous years in Syria this seems to be the conclusion the international community has arrived at. A comment.

There's little hope for an improvement of the Syrian situation. Nonetheless, there are civil society activists who are still working on non-violent resistance and democratic change.

An international conference on the situation of Syrian refugees has been arranged for 28th October in Berlin. Yet in view of the magnitude of the crisis, this is a mere drop in the ocean. Western states keep concentrating on ways to ease the symptoms of the crisis which they cannot gain control over without political underpinning.