IV.  Political Environment

Lebanon is a democratic republic with a parliamentary system of government.
An informal system of power sharing among Lebanon's officially recognized
religious confessions pervades all aspects of civil society.  According to the
terms of an unwritten agreement in 1943 which established the political
foundations of modern Lebanon, the President is a Maronite Christian, the
Prime Minister a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of the Chamber of Deputies a
Shi'a Muslim.  The President is elected for one six-year term by the Chamber
of Deputies and cannot be re-elected.  The Prime Minister is nominated by the
President in mandatory consultation with the speaker of the Chamber of
Deputies, and is subject to the confidence of the Chamber.  Lebanon's 128
deputies are elected by universal adult suffrage for a four year term, and are
divided equally between Christians and Muslims.  The next election of deputies
is scheduled for 1996.

Lebanese politics are dominated by former militias based on confessional
followings, and by traditionally powerful families also rooted in
confessionally and geographically defined groups.  There is also a host of
non-sectarian political parties of lesser importance.  Since the end of the
Lebanese civil war in 1991, the government has consolidated its authority in
some parts of the country by disarming some militias.  The government has not
disarmed other militias, particularly in the south.  It has made no effort to
disarm the Iranian-backed Hizballah and its allies, or other terrorist
organizations which operate on Lebanese territory beyond the grasp of the
government.  Non-Lebanese forces control much of Lebanon, and impinge on
central authority.  There are about 30,000 Syrian troops in Lebanon.  A 1991
defense agreement establishes a cooperative framework between Syrian and
Lebanese armed forces, but Syrian military and intelligence units operate
independently.

Israel exerts control in and near a security zone it established for itself in
southern Lebanon, largely through the Army of South Lebanon (SLA) and about
1000 Israeli troops.  Palestinian groups operate autonomously in refugee camps
throughout Lebanon.  The government estimates that there are about 360,000
Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.  A decades-old cycle of raids and
counterraids in the south continues between Hizballah and its allies on one
side and Israeli defense forces and the SLA on the other.  Civilians continue
to be victims of unannounced artillery and aerial attacks, bombings,
abductions, assassinations and explosions.  The Lebanese populace is armed,
and serious incidents of violence have occurred without warning.

The United States seeks to promote political stability and economic
redevelopment, and to help preserve the independence, sovereignty and
territorial integrity of Lebanon.  The United States has provided
approximately USD 300 million in humanitarian relief assistance to Lebanon in
the past decade, and in 1993 launched modest programs to assist in
administrative reform of the civil service, and to help with the return of
displaced Lebanese to their homes.  The United States also provides assistance
to the Lebanese armed forces to support its efforts to restore central
government authority throughout Lebanon.