A New Government in Lebanon
Finally, a new government has been formed in Lebanon. Now the world will be able to find an executive to deal with. There was a type of vacuum after the Hassan Diab government had lost its credibility and resigned, following the Beirut port explosion on August 4 last year.
It is normal, in any country in the world, for the political elites to engage in the fight for control over governance, share of posts, and distribution of responsibilities. But the country should not suffer due to the political crisis caused by these differences. This wretched political elite was successful in sabotaging a country in a way which the civil war, the Israeli invasions, natural disasters, or the implications of the crises of neighbouring countries could not do. The World Bank estimated that what has happened in Lebanon was more than the bankruptcy of Greece in 2008 and economic crisis in Argentina in 2001. Instead of feeling ashamed of these fallouts, particularly after the port explosion which left more than 200 dead, 6,500 injured and destroyed entire neighbourhoods of the city, Lebanese politicians have continued treading the path of exacerbating the political crisis and deepening the general economic collapse.
It is an irony that the Lebanese political players did not reach this settlement on their own. It was the enormous international and Arab pressure which made them do so. There are reports which depict a bleak future for the country. Some experts estimated that the country would need nearly 19 years to recover.
(Editorial in Al Quds Al Arabi, London)
Iran’s Hegemony over the Region
The way Iran handles its relationship with its neighbours in the Middle East gives the feeling that it is making efforts to gain hegemony over the region.
Internally, it has utilised all its material and non-material capabilities for strengthening itself. The Iranian elite is fully aware of the importance of the country as an important and influential player in regional stability and security.
Regionally, its advantage is that there is a lack of unity in the Gulf towards Iran, and there is divergence of policies of regional powers about it.
Internationally, its stimulus is that there are spaces for convergence of interests between Iran and the United States, as happened in Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq since 2003. The western position has always been divided between American and European (sides).
It is worth mentioning that Iran relied heavily on non-material power tools to create relations of dependence and hegemony before 2011, that is, before the outbreak of the Arab uprisings. After 2011, it followed a consistent strategy for hegemony by relying on the military element and establishing non-state actors.
Although Iran is not on good terms with great powers, such as the United States, it has succeeded in achieving some of its goals, due to its alliance with Russia, friendship with China, the neutralisation of the European role, and its lack of identification with the American position.
(by Huda Rauf in Independent Arabia)
Compiled and Translated by Faizul Haque