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Lebanon Working Group

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The Lebanon Working Group was launched in 2007 (concluding in 2014) following the 2006 war with Israel in an effort to facilitate knowledge-sharing between Lebanon experts from both inside and outside the government and served as a platform to help inform U.S. policymakers and U.S. engagement in Lebanon.

Lebanon Cedar Flags
Photo Courtesy of Flickr/Tim

In 2011, USIP partnered with the Stimson Center to broaden the scope of the working group to engage Stimson’s experts. Members of the working group met regularly for off-the-record discussions with a focus on:

  • Potential for further spillover of the Syrian civil war, particularly given the unresolved sectarian tensions that fueled Lebanon’s own civil war
  • Humanitarian and security implications of the Syria crisis
  • The prospects for renewed cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel
  • The role of Lebanon as a perennial proxy battlefield for US-tensions with Iran

Guest speakers included:

  • U.S. ambassador to Lebanon, Maura Connelly;
  • Former ambassador to both Egypt and Israel, Daniel Kurtzer;
  • Lebanon analyst Randa Slim;
  • Registrar for the UN Special Tribunal for Lebanon, Herman von Hebel

In addition, the group sponsored the following public events:

Publications

Hezbollah’s Nuclear Option
January 13, 2011 | Foreign Policy | by Steve Heydemann
The Other Shoe Drops in Lebanon
January 17, 2011 | Foreign Policy | by Mona Yacoubian
Cairo, Heed the Lessons from Algiers and Beirut
February 23, 2011 | Foreign Policy | by Mona Yacoubian
The Syrian Uprising’s Impact on Lebanon
May 9, 2011 | USIP Blog Post | by Mona Yacoubian
Regional Dynamics of the Syrian Uprising: The Impact on Lebanon and Hezbollah
October 18, 2011 | USIP Peacebrief | by Mona Yacoubian
Syria Conflict Rattles Lebanon
October 22, 2012 | Olive Branch Blog Post | by Lucy Kurtzer-Ellenbogen
The Syrian Civil War: Threatening Lebanon's Fragile Stability
September 2012 | Conflict Prevention Newsletter Spotlight | by Lucy Kurtzer-Ellenbogen

Latest Publications

Southeast Asia Web Scams Reach U.S., Setting Off Alarms for Law Enforcement

Southeast Asia Web Scams Reach U.S., Setting Off Alarms for Law Enforcement

Wednesday, August 21, 2024

By: Priscilla A. Clapp;  Erin West

From their base in ungoverned stretches of Southeast Asia, international criminal networks are prowling the Internet, seeking to defraud victims around the world with sophisticated and psychologically devastating scams. Gangsters operating out of Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, relying on forced labor, have spread their tentacles through Asia, Africa and Latin America and increasingly within the United States, stripping gullible prey of at least $64 billion annually. Clearly, to eradicate such a global menace will require a coordinated international response. Even so, the United States is not internally powerless to confront this striking example of how conflict and corrupt governance in distant parts of the world can directly threaten Americans’ security and well-being.

Type: Analysis

Economics;  Global Policy

Why Is the U.S. Deploying Long-Range Missiles in Germany?

Why Is the U.S. Deploying Long-Range Missiles in Germany?

Wednesday, August 21, 2024

By: Yashar Parsie

On the sidelines of last month’s NATO summit, the United States and Germany announced that Washington will begin episodic deployments of long-range conventional capabilities to Germany. In 1987, the United States and Soviet Union agreed to eliminate these systems under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty, but Russia’s violations led the United States to withdraw from the treaty in 2019. Three years later, Russia invaded Ukraine and has engaged in nuclear saber-rattling since then. Washington plans to deploy these systems to strengthen deterrence, but Moscow has criticized them.

Type: Question and Answer

Global Policy

Russia’s War and China’s Rise Set a New Path for South Korea-NATO Relations

Russia’s War and China’s Rise Set a New Path for South Korea-NATO Relations

Tuesday, August 20, 2024

By: Geunwook Lee;  Kwang-Jin Kim

July 2024 marked the third time South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol joined a NATO summit along with the leaders of the alliance’s other Indo-Pacific partner countries (Australia, Japan and New Zealand), informally known as the IP4. This represents a new phase in South Korea’s relations with the Atlantic alliance, but building a lasting friendship will take time and requires navigating a series of challenges. Amid an emerging global division of democratic and authoritarian camps and the challenges posed by China and Russia for both the Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic regions, it is incumbent on both Brussels and Seoul to build a more cooperative relationship. That journey, however, has just begun.

Type: Analysis

Global Policy

Is Southeast Asia’s Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone the Key to Indo-Pacific Stability?

Is Southeast Asia’s Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone the Key to Indo-Pacific Stability?

Tuesday, August 20, 2024

By: Nigel Li

Over five decades into the “Asian peace,” there are reasons to be pessimistic about the future security of the Indo-Pacific. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has ignited concerns of conflict in Asia and Moscow’s nuclear threats have unearthed the specter of nuclear war as China rapidly augments its nuclear capabilities. An escalating arms race between the U.S. and China will inevitably leave non-nuclear weapon states caught in the middle. But all is not lost. In Asia, there are existing security mechanisms that could be revitalized to reinforce strategic stability. One of those mechanisms is the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ).

Type: Analysis

Global Policy

Bangladesh’s Revolution Remains Unfinished

Bangladesh’s Revolution Remains Unfinished

Monday, August 19, 2024

By: Geoffrey Macdonald, Ph.D.

On August 5, a student-led revolution toppled Bangladesh’s increasingly repressive prime minister, Sheikh Hasina. After 15 years in power, her government’s sudden and improbable collapse creates the possibility for a new era in Bangladesh. Democratic champions are reinvigorated, but instability and violence will grow in the near term and countervailing forces will likely emerge to blunt progress. Bangladesh’s revolutionary moment is not yet a revolution. Only sustained and deliberate political reform can finish what the students started. The United States can help.

Type: Analysis

Democracy & Governance

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