National News, Analyses & Opinions
Lebanon in dire need of reform: Is the country ready for a new social contract?
Opinion analysis by Myriam Akiki, Staff Writer
It is safe to say that the Lebanese State in itself has failed. It has long lost its authority, is in no way capable of providing for its citizens and a sizeable portion of the Lebanese people no longer consider it to be legitimate. Lebanon is in desperate need of a brand-new social contract. Any variant of the current system will only lead to history repeating itself and thus, robbing Lebanese citizens of their freedom once again.
A Day in the Life of a Middle Class Resident of Lebanon - Explaining Lebanon’s political and economic crisis
Opinion analysis by Yara Zebian, Featured Writer
Have you ever tried to explain what we, in Lebanon, have been going through to people abroad? It seems that no matter how much we try, no one really understands the terrifying impact this crisis has on each individual living in Lebanon. This article tries to explain the daily life of a middle class resident in Lebanon by walking the reader through a day in such a life. It tries to instill in the reader the raw emotions of frustration, fury, and despair that have become typical emotions to those of us in Lebanon.
The Lebanese Brain Drain: A never-ending cycle of immigration and separation
Opinion analysis by Maria Wehbe, Featured Writer
So many Lebanese citizens are fleeing the country in the hope of finding a better life abroad: as of September of 2020, about 380 000 Lebanese are said to be considering leaving their home country as a result of the current economic and political meltdown. With that being said, what are the effects of Brain Drain on the country in question? Well, here are a few: loss of tax revenue, a shortage of important and skilled workers, loss of potential future entrepreneurs, loss of innovative ideas along with many other disastrous repercussions. In the long run, it reduces human capital, economic growth, demographic shifts and increases the cost of public goods.
Can the International Community Save Lebanon? - What has been, and should be, the role of international actors amid Lebanon’s crisis
Opinion Analysis by Gaia Bchara, Featured Writer
The international community’s involvement in Lebanon has long been that of a stabilizing force in favor of the status quo. This is clearest in the continuous economic and financial bailouts that served to bolster Lebanon’s political class, free of any coherent implementation plans. At the heart of policies directed at the Lebanese political class lies the prospect of reform. Today, it is increasingly clear that a meaningful Lebanese partner cannot be found in its current oligarchy. As such, fashioning a new role for the international community in Lebanon is central to the country’s reconstruction.
Lebanese Tourism – Summer 2021 Edition: The country’s palliative amidst its crises?
Opinion Analysis by Zeina Dagher, Featured Writer
Lebanon’s tourism sector has always been credited with keeping the country’s economy afloat knowing that the industrial sector is quasi-absent. In the midst of the worsening economic crisis Lebanon is going through, and after all the restrictions that the pandemic had imposed on Lebanese businesses, there’s no doubt that this sector took a hard blow. But can we say that summer 2021’s tourist activity will bring them, and the economy in general, some relief? On one hand, the Lebanese pound is at an all-time low, which is extremely attractive for foreigners. But on the other hand, there’s the risk of growing civil and political strife as shortages abound. Not to mention the recent violent outburst of israel and the overall unsteady regional situation that could easily dissuade tourists from spending their summer here and strike one of Lebanon’s only chances of temporarily readdressing its economy…
Lebanon’s Economic Performance (2020/2021): A House of CardsMacroeconomic Indicators and International Responses to Lebanese Officials
Opinion Analysis by Siriine ElKhalili, Featured Writer
Lebanon’s economic crisis is deepening with hyperinflation, shortages in essential services, frightening poverty rates, and inconsiderate political authority. Lebanon’s ruling class have proven to be a catalyst of the current crises piling up and unfolding, and foreign countries continue to express their disappointment. How long will the Lebanese people continue to face this injustice?
Red Flags for the Local Financial System - Lebanon will soon be out of the global financial system if no corrective measures are implemented
Opinion Analysis by Yara Dally, Visiting Contributor
Another menace causing concern about Lebanon's presence in the global financial system. International lenders have long viewed the country's banks as risky, putting correspondent banks' relationships with the Lebanese banking industry on the verge of termination.
Amidst Lebanon’s economic crisis, merchants’ greed strikes again - How to stop their unlawful practices, from a historical and legal point of view
Analysis by Zeina Dagher, Featured Writer
In the Lebanon of 2021, it’s almost impossible to go a day without hearing people cursing the politicians’ corruption and greed, that led this country to its downfall. However, it sadly appears that citizens have also taken on their leaders’ example, ruthlessly exploiting each other in these dire times: corruption reaches the leader and the citizen equally. Yes, you guessed it, we’re talking about the merciless merchant greed that has been crippling the country for almost a year now. The unlawful practices that merchants and dealers have been using to profit off this country’s misery, like food monopolization and price manipulation, have left the people in interminable queues and with empty stomachs, pouring their last shred of dignity into buying the bare essentials to survive with their families. But in a country that supposedly abides by the rule of law, how are such practices, that violate the people’s most basic rights, so widely permitted?