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1.The Lebanese political system is a quasi federation made up of various religious groups, also known as a confessional regime
2.The Lebanese state recognizes eighteen sects, the formal representatives of which have a variety of powers by virtue of their relationship with the state. This includes five Islamic sects (Sunni, Shia, Druze, Alawite, and Ismaili); the Maronites and eleven other Christian sects; and the Jewish community
3.Political sectarianism has been entrenched since the Ottoman and French Mandate periods; wartime and postwar developments have consolidated the influence of sectarian political parties and affiliated groups
4.Different groups’ representation in the government is guaranteed along confessional lines. This is achieved by reserving a proportional number of high-level government offices, cabinet seats, legislative seats, and public employment to representatives of each religious community
5.This system, though based on compromise, encouraged the different communities to compete for state resources and produced entrenched networks of patronage, where elites promoted and safeguarded the interests of their own communities to secure votes during elections
6.Lebanon manages to remain relatively stable due to consultation among the elites of each of its major social groups, but this comes at a price, as most groups have de-facto “veto powers” that paralyze the Executive along with main democratic processes
7.Voters typically select parliamentary candidates from a narrow pool affiliated with their sect; which not only limits voter choice, but also creates patronage systems dominated by powerful families and keeps sectarian tension ever-present in political discourse
8.The fact that political parties have increasingly represented one religious community has led to the quagmire of the Doha agreement
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