The Construction Of The Maronite And The Modern Lebanese Nation-state (1840-1943)

Lebanon is the only parliamentary democratic republic country in the Arab countries, but the characteristic of its democracy is sectarian politics. Maronite is a branch of Uniate Catholic, and is the largest community that first generated clear communal identity in Lebanon. It was administered by Vatican since 13 century. The Maronite identity was based on the sectarian identity, emphasizing the giant defference between tnemselves and other groups. And from 19 century, the Maronite identity had political implication. In 1840s, the Maronite Church began to put forward nationalist expression whose core was the communal political interest, which marked the origin of the Lebanese nation state building.The Lebanese Emirate collapsed in 1840s. Soon, it was taken charge of by the Ottaman Empire briefly and then be divided and ruled under internal and external pressure. The Maronites and Druzes conflict in 1860 helped Lebanon to establish autonomy system. The rudiment of sectarian politics of Lebanon began to shape in the autonomous period. As the defeated country, the Ottaman Empire quit Arab region in 1918. The Great Lebanon which was set up under French mandate in 1920 laid the foundation of basic territory and political structure of modern Lebanon state. With the cooperation and compromise between the leaders of Maronites and Sunnites, Lebanon moved towards independence and the modern Lebanon state was established.Modern nation-state Lebanon was established by Lebanism and Arab nationalism. In the mid-nineteenth century, Ottomanism, Arab nationalism, Syrianism and Lebanism appeared and competed each other. Lebanism refers to the autonomous project of Maronites that appeared in 1840s and took shape in 1860s.Factors that can contribute to the formation of Lebanism are:the unique geographical environment of Lebanon and the tax farming system of Emirate; the economical, social and political development of Maronites because of the development of silk industry; the sectarian unbalance and social differentiation which were caused by the impact of the world market; the occasion of the collapse of Lebanon Emirate as well as western intervenes and the spread of western political thought.Lebanism began to have clear separatism trend because the activity and influence of the Decentralization Party at the end of the Ottaman Empire. The substance of Lebaism varied along with the change of time and the international and domestic background, but it had two most basic characteristics:to set up an autonomous or independent Lebanon state and to maintain the political superiority of Maronites. The nucleus of Lebanists has been Maronite clerical and secular elites. The core of early nationalist identity was the communal identity, therefore, Lebanism had a strong Maronite tendency.