Abstract
The article explores the European Union's (EU) conflict response to Lebanon in the wake of Syria's war and its spillover effects. Seeking to boost the polity's 'resilience', the EU has deployed resources and strategies to stabilize the country, enhance its social cohesion and promote 'effective governance'. The EU has furthermore integrated Lebanon in its broader response to the outcomes of the Arab uprisings and the Syrian conflict. While the EU has become more attuned to Lebanon's conflict environment, it has had limited effectiveness in handling Lebanon's conflict processes against the benchmark of its declared goals. The EU's realist-normative dilemmas and inability to address Lebanon's core issues of contention emerge as constraining factors. The bloc is more effective in mitigating short-Term strains through cooperating with the government on convergent interests such as security and refugee governance than playing an impactful role in conflict resolution.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | European Foreign Affairs Review |
| Volume | 22 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Pages (from-to) | 39-58 |
| Number of pages | 20 |
| ISSN | 1384-6299 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2017 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:European Commission, EU Support in Response to the Syrian Crisis, Fact Sheet (5 Feb. 2016). European Parliament, Motion for a Resolution on EU and Member State Measures to Tackle the Flow of Refugees as a Result of the Conflict in Syria, 2013/2837(RSP) (10 Oct. 2013). European Commission, EU Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian Crisis, http://ec.europa.eu/ enlargement/neighbourhood/countries/syria/madad/index_en.htm. N. Noe, Confronting the Islamic State: Lebanon’s Tenuous Success Amidst Growing Threats. The Islamic State Through the Regional Lens, ECFR (15 July 2016), http://www.ecfr.eu/article/commentary_ confronting_is_lebanons_tenuous_success_amidst_growing_threat319. European Parliament, Joint Motion for a Resolution on the Humanitarian Crisis in Iraq and Syria, in Particular in the IS Context, 2015/2559(RSP) (11 Feb. 2015). European Commission, Single Support Framework (SSF) Programming Document for Lebanon 2014–2016 (8 Sept. 2014). Ibid., at 2.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 Kluwer Law International BV, The Netherlands.