A Lebanese government decision to designate Iran's ambassador as persona non grata has been swiftly rejected by both Hezbollah and Amal. Whatever the significance of that measure or the motives behind it, it stands as a painful reminder—part insult, part open wound—of the paralysis gripping the Lebanese state in the conduct of its own affairs.
That paralysis is the cumulative product of years of external tutelage, the dominance of armed communal groups, and the stranglehold of a bankrupt and debilitating form of “consociational democracy.”
Since 2008, Hezbollah and Amal (known colloquially inside of Lebanon as the Shiite duo) have dominated this dysfunctional system. As a result, government institutions have become deeply dependent on the tutelage of these two groups.
This tutelage has stripped the state of its sovereignty, eliminated checks and balances, and stifled reforms and development. And while Hezbollah is the one seen as wielding the sword, all political groups have played their part in crippling the state.
