Saghieh from the National Bloc: The Rise of Authoritarian Regimes in the Region Has Destroyed Lebanon

As part of “Jalse maa el Ketle” (A Session with the Bloc series), the National Bloc hosted writer Hazem Saghieh to mark the anniversary of the founding of Greater Lebanon. The discussion was moderated by the Head of political relations, Camille Mourani.

Mourani opened with a welcoming statement and said: “In a rational world, the value of an ancient tree in southern Lebanon should mean more to us than all of northern Israel and everyone in it. But in reality, it is quite the opposite—we hate Israel more than we love ourselves.” He pointed out that this crisis goes beyond politics; it is an anthropological crisis that needs to be studied and analyzed.

He added: "We in the National Bloc are guided by the principle that our political work is, and always will be, in the interest of this country and its people. This principle aligned with the October 17 Revolution, which essentially called on people to abandon their ideologies, primary affiliations, sects, and nationalities—which have proven to provide no sustenance—and unite around their true interests." He emphasized that, in the National Bloc, "we do not dream of a nation larger than this country, nor do we work for anything smaller than it." He continued: "We can support whoever we want, and hate whoever we want, but we must act solely based on our national interests."

For his part, Saghieh noted that, to understand Lebanon’s challenges, we need to look at the central issue of conflict. The idea of Lebanon was built on several foundations, one of which was the prioritization of building friendships. However, the rise of totalitarianism and dictatorship in the region was rooted in hostility—centered on the idea of an enemy, war, battles, destiny, martyrdom and so on.

Saghieh explained that Lebanon experienced moments of relative stability when parliamentary systems existed in the Arab world, particularly in the neighboring countries and regions that influenced us, despite their flaws, struggles, and weaknesses.

He added: “Lebanon’s collapse began with the rise of military coups across the region and the subsequent emergence of authoritarian regimes, each with its own form of oppression. The culmination of this development was the rise of the Iranian regime, which, while not born of a military coup, operates as a religious authoritarian system. Like military regimes, it is characterized by repression and a disregard for the will of the people. It is this rise of authoritarianism that has brought Lebanon to ruin.”