The Quest for a Balance of Power in Lebanon during Suleiman Frangieh's Presidency, 1970–76

This paper examines the changes in the balance of power in domestic and foreign arenas in Lebanon during the regime of President Suleiman Frangieh between the years of 1970 and 1976. Changes occurred in both arenas which influenced the stability of the regime and led the country to a civil war. In the domestic political arena, the regime ceased to rely on a Maronite–Sunni–Shiite axis and began to rely firstly on a Maronite–Shiite axis, and then on a Maronite–Druze axis. These steps aroused the Sunni establishment against the regime and led to instability. In the foreign arena, the regime exchanged their policy of neutrality on Arab and international arenas in favour of leaning towards ‘revolutionary’ Arab countries such as Syria, Iraq and Libya. This led to a rise in the influence and intervention of these Arab countries in Lebanese political affairs and escalated the turbulence on the streets of Lebanon against the Frangieh regime.