1 week ago
Lebanon Faces Last Chance to Rebuild Through Stronger Institutions
Lebanon has strong and resilient people, but its government has struggled to provide security and economic stability.
Different armed and political groups have sometimes been more powerful than the state.
Hezbollah has weapons and also provides schools, hospitals and financial help to some communities.
This makes the question of disarmament very difficult.
Lebanon’s army is not yet strong enough to force Hezbollah to give up its weapons without risking a new conflict.
Foreign military activity in southern Lebanon also makes it harder for the government to claim full control.
The country needs money to rebuild, but donors want to see serious reforms first.
Lebanon has a narrow opportunity to build stronger institutions and revive its economy.
Lebanon’s state institutions remain too weak to control security, deliver stability and support economic recovery.
President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam took office in January 2025 after a prolonged political vacuum.
The government has pledged to strengthen state authority, address Hezbollah’s arms and pursue economic reforms.
Hezbollah’s social services and support networks give it a deep base, making forced disarmament potentially destabilizing.
Reconstruction depends on reforms, banking-sector restructuring, international funding and parallel efforts to resolve security tensions in southern Lebanon.
- Who
- The Lebanese government, President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, Hezbollah, the Lebanese Army and international donors are central to the issue.
- What
- Lebanon is attempting to strengthen state authority, address Hezbollah’s weapons, reform its economy and secure reconstruction funding.
- Where
- Lebanon, especially Beirut and southern Lebanon, with broader implications for regional trade and relations with neighbouring Syria and the Gulf.
- When
- The article describes developments since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war, including protests in 2019, the Beirut port explosion in 2020, renewed conflict after October 2023 and new national leadership in January 2025.
- Why
- Lebanon’s political vacuum, weak institutions, economic collapse, repeated conflicts and unresolved security arrangements have prevented durable stability and reconstruction.
State Authority and Reform
Security Guarantees and Existing Power Structures
Hezbollah’s weapons
State Authority and Reform
The Lebanese government has pledged to strengthen state authority and address Hezbollah’s arms so that the state can control national security.
Security Guarantees and Existing Power Structures
Hezbollah argues that surrendering its weapons would expose Lebanon to renewed Israeli aggression and could lead to civil war.
How disarmament should occur
State Authority and Reform
Supporters of stronger state institutions say disarmament, institutional reform and reconstruction must proceed together, with the Lebanese Army eventually responsible for national security.
Security Guarantees and Existing Power Structures
The Lebanese Army is considered too weak to impose disarmament by force, while Hezbollah is more heavily armed and deeply embedded in parts of the country.
Foreign military presence
State Authority and Reform
Lebanon needs an end to Israeli military presence and operations on its territory to restore the credibility of the state and army.
Security Guarantees and Existing Power Structures
The demand that Lebanon establish a state monopoly over weapons is difficult to implement while Israeli forces remain in or operate from Lebanese territory, linking security issues that require parallel diplomacy.
International reconstruction aid
State Authority and Reform
International donors and the IMF argue that credible banking, fiscal, governance and transparency reforms are necessary before substantial support can be provided.
Security Guarantees and Existing Power Structures
Lebanon urgently needs reconstruction finance, but previous pledges did not fully materialise, limiting the resources available for recovery.
Key facts
- New leadership
- Parliament elected Joseph Aoun president and Nawaf Salam became prime minister in January 2025.
- State weakness
- Lebanon has struggled to establish a monopoly over force and institutions capable of delivering political and economic stability.
- Economic damage
- Successive conflicts, the financial crisis and the 2020 Beirut port explosion have caused extensive economic damage.
- Hezbollah’s role
- Hezbollah maintains military capabilities and provides schools, hospitals, youth programmes and financial support in parts of Shia society.
- Army constraint
- The Lebanese Army’s limited budget is focused heavily on salaries and pensions, restricting investment in weapons and capabilities.
- Reconstruction finance
- A 2018 donors’ conference produced pledges of about $10 billion, but much of the promised support did not materialise.
- IMF conditions
- The International Monetary Fund has identified banking restructuring, fiscal sustainability, governance and transparency as prerequisites for recovery.
Sources
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