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      Michael Young

      Michael Young

      Columnist
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      Michael Young is a Lebanon affairs columnist for The National. He is the senior editor at the Malcolm H Kerr Carnegie Middle East Centre in Beirut, where he also edits Diwan, the blog of the Carnegie Middle East Programme. A former journalist, he is the author of 'The Ghosts of Martyrs Square: An Eyewitness Account of Lebanon’s Life Struggle' (Simon and Schuster, 2010), selected by The Wall Street Journal as one of its 10 notable books for 2010.
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      Articles

      A Lebanese protester wearing a Lebanese flag face mask as members of the Lebanese Armed Forces stand guard during a demonstration against dwindling economic conditions, at Al Nour Square in the centre of Tripoli, May 3, 2020. AFP
      With Lebanon under threat, the army can hold things together

      That is not to say that the army should strive to take power

      CommentApril 06, 2021
      An anti-government protest against the power cuts, the high cost of living and the low purchasing power of the Lebanese pound, in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, 19 March. EPA
      Is decentralisation a solution for Lebanon?

      Lebanon’s social contract is dead and has to be replaced

      CommentMarch 24, 2021
      Bechara Boutros Al Rai speaks during a rally at the Maronite Church's seat in Bkirki, Beirut, last month. AP Photo
      Could Lebanon ever become a neutral state in the Middle East?

      A look at the politics behind efforts by the country's Maronite patriarch to restore a regional middle ground

      CommentMarch 13, 2021
      The skies above Beirut have been particularly stormy this year. AFP
      Will our image of Beirut as a cultural capital ever come back?

      The Lebanese city is having an identity crisis, in which it can't seem to break a cycle of failure

      CommentFebruary 23, 2021
      This photo provided by Monika Borgmann shows her husband, Lokman Slim, a well-known Lebanese publisher and vocal critic of Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite Muslim group, at his desk in the southern Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh, Lebanon. Lokman Slim family via AP
      Camera5
      Why now? Lokman Slim’s killing in Beirut throws up many questions

      For years Mr Slim endured Hezbollah's harassment

      CommentFebruary 10, 2021
      Near empty roads in the Jal El Dib area of north Beirut in Lebanon on January 23. The lockdown has been extended till Febraury 8. EPA
      Why Lebanon just can't seem to form a government

      The Lebanese continue to suffer and for the moment there seems to be no solution

      CommentJanuary 27, 2021
      Leaders from GCC states at Al Ula in Saudi Arabia. EPA
      Are we seeing more realistic geopolitics in the Middle East?

      A return to the regional dynamics of the mid 20th century could end up reducing tensions

      CommentJanuary 26, 2021
      Michel Aoun (L) waves as he leaves Beirut International Airport with son-in-law Gebran Bassil on May 16, 2008 on his way to a meeting in Doha. AFP
      How Lebanon's President Michel Aoun is paving the way for son-in-law Bassil

      How long can these political games go on when Lebanon is disintegrating?

      CommentDecember 29, 2020
      A girl weeps as she remember her uncle who killed during the Aug. 4 Beirut port explosion, during a vigil at the seaport main entrance to marking four months since the blast that killed more than 200 people and injured thousands, in Beirut, Lebanon Friday, Dec. 4, 2020. An investigation has yet to provide answers or hold any senior official responsible and the victims are demanding answers and justice for their loved ones. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
      Biden must support Macron's plan for Lebanon

      The US has long used sanctions as if they resolved any problems

      CommentDecember 16, 2020
      An anti-government protester holds a picture of Lebanese President Michel Aoun as he shouts slogans during a protest, in Beirut's Ashrafieh district, Lebanon, on November 26, 2020. AP
      Beirut's elite don't know what to do with Lebanon besides loot it

      The deadlock that cripples the Lebanese government stems from a reluctance to stop divvying up the nation's coffers

      CommentDecember 01, 2020
      Gebran Bassil in Budapest, Hungary, 26 November 2019. EPA
      Gebran Bassil is damaged goods for Hezbollah

      With the US sanctions, Mr Bassil’s political ambitions have been dealt a blow

      CommentNovember 17, 2020
      A supporter of US President Donald Trump gives a thumb's up as he arrives to attend his final Make America Great Again rally of the 2020 US Presidential campaign at Gerald R. Ford International Airport on November 2, 2020, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. / AFP / JEFF KOWALSKY
      What will a post-American order in the Middle East look like?

      Without it, dynamics of the region are heading towards greater fragmentation

      CommentNovember 03, 2020
      Saad Hariri at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon on October 12. Dalati Nohra / Handout via Reuters
      How did Saad Hariri end up back in the running to be Lebanese PM?

      Hezbollah, which had often supported Mr Bassil against Mr Hariri, appears unwilling to do so this time around

      CommentOctober 20, 2020
      An Israeli soldier on board the Israeli naval ship 'Lahav' during a tour of Israel's offshore Leviathan gasfield in the Mediterranean. AP
      Camera9
      Hezbollah is losing its ability to intimidate anyone

      Amid Lebanon's economic chaos and popular despair, there is little patience left for the group's 'resistance' ideology

      CommentOctober 06, 2020
      Demonstrators take part in protests near the site of the blast at the Beirut's port area in Lebanon. The country has been in foment owing to political dysfunction. Reuters
      Camera11
      Hezbollah is actively undermining France's help for Lebanon

      The French President has a plan to bring Lebanon economic relief and political stability, but militant parties have a darker vision for the future

      CommentSeptember 23, 2020
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