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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Lebanon
Index
Multisectarian political groups have been primarily left-wing
movements. Some groups have argued against the inertia of the
zuama clientele system, while others espoused Marxist
causes. Small parties sometimes have been externally controlled. In
the 1970s, for example, the Popular Front for the Liberation of
Palestine, under the leadership of George Habash, controlled the
Arab Socialist Action Organization, which also fought on the side
of the Lebanese National Movement during the 1975 Civil War. In
1987 the Baath (Arab Socialist Resurrection) parties in power in
Syria and Iraq each had a faction operating in Lebanon. The late
Egyptian president Nasser left a strong legacy in Lebanon. Many
essentially pan-Arab parties have borne his name in their titles.
Although these groups have been characterized as
multisectarian, this label may not be entirely accurate. In fact,
over the years most have taken on narrower confessional patterns.
For instance, Shias were dominant in the Lebanese Communist Party
and Organization of Communist Action, whereas the Syrian Socialist
Nationalist Party has been heavily represented by Greek Orthodox
and Druze (of the Yazbak clan) members.
Data as of December 1987
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