The Modern and Contemporary History of Lebanon (1516 – 2026)

The Centre for Arab Unity Studies has published the book The Modern and Contemporary History of Lebanon (1516–2026) by Dr. Jamal Wakim.

The modern and contemporary history of Lebanon possesses a complex, distinctive character stemming from its entanglement with the successive imperial structures that have shaped the region and its interaction with major international transformations, as well as the formation of its social and political identities amidst a web of internal, regional, and international conflicts. Spanning the period from the late fifteenth century to the end of the twentieth century, this history serves as a precise mirror of the geopolitical stakes that defined the Arab Levant and the Mediterranean basin; simultaneously, it reflects profound internal dynamics—some rooted in socio-economic structures, others driven by external pressures.

This book seeks to interpret the complex dynamics that have shaped the trajectory of modern and contemporary Lebanon through a three-dimensional lens—political, economic, and social. It approaches the country’s history not as a mere series of isolated events or “pivotal moments,” but as a cumulative process in which long-term structures, medium-term fluctuations, and the rapid eruptions of major events intersect. It employs a critical historical methodology inspired by the Annales School and contemporary approaches to social and political history, eschewing the celebratory or sectarian narratives that have characterized the work of some traditional Lebanese historians.