In 1975, the tiny Mediterranean country of Lebanon erupted into what would become a fifteen year-long civil war. The roots of the conflict emerged out of a combination of postcolonial tensions and regional unrest. In anticipation of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the United Kingdom and France redrew the boundaries of the modern Middle East in 1916, and assumed control of parts of the region. In the process, the modern-day country of Lebanon was created and placed under French mandate for the next three decades. While occupying Lebanon, the French administered a census, distributing power among nearly twenty ethno-religious groups according to proportional representation – and to French political interest. The result was a system of governance favoring the sympathetic Maronite…
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Citation: Ragin, Renee Michelle. "Women's literature of the Lebanese Civil War". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 05 July 2019 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=19560, accessed 27 November 2024.]