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Michael Young

Michael Young

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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 picture taken on February 21, 2020, shows a portrait of Arab Israeli member of the Joint List Ahmad Tibi on a campaign poster, with Arabic writing stating, "I am staying seated for you" in the northern Israeli City of Tayyiba. AFP
Camera9
What Israel's rising divisions mean for its Arabs – both free and occupied

A so-called peace plan and a bitter election are pushing Israeli Arabs and Palestinians further towards a common cause

OpinionMarch 10, 2020
A supporter of Lebanon's President Michel Aoun holds his picture during a counter-protest near the presidential palace in Baabda in November. AFP
Lebanon crisis: the Maronite church is at odds with the state

Beirut bishop's terse exchange with the country's Maronite president echoes the Christian community's unhappiness with the elite

CommentFebruary 27, 2020
The main conference hall at the Arab League headquarters before its renovation. AFP
An Arab initiative that could be the real path to peace

As the latest US plan is a no-go, stakeholders need to remind everyone that the Arab Peace Initiative has existed in plain sight for almost two decades

CommentFebruary 10, 2020
Lebanese protesters rally at the Dome City Centre known as 'The Egg' in downtown Beirut. AFP
Camera15
Hezbollah will find the urgent Lebanese priorities are clashing with its regional loyalties

If the party opts for repression to silence the domestic scene, it might cause a social explosion and foreign condemnation that it would regret

CommentJanuary 23, 2020
A protester with tear gas canisters on his fingers flashes the victory sign during anti-government protests in Karbala, Iraq. AFP
Arab states reduced to proxy-playing fields for other regional powers will usher in period of unrest

The Middle East will continue to struggle with domestic discontent as Arab societies revolt against their mismanaged governments

CommentJanuary 08, 2020
A protester waves Lebanese national flags as he takes part in a demonstration against the nomination of Hassan Diab as Prime Minister, outside his house in Beirut. EPA
Lebanon is prepared to give Hassan Diab a chance. It has little choice

The prime minister's lack of communal backing will plague him in the months ahead, particularly when the government has to take tough economic measures

CommentDecember 26, 2019
President Michel Aoun (L) minister of defence Elias Abou Saab attend the military parade of the 76th anniversary of Lebanese independence day at the Defence Ministry headquarters in Yarze, east of Beirut , Lebanon 22 November 2019. Dalati Nohra/ EPA
The idea that Lebanon's armed forces represent a solution to the current crisis is an illusion

The military reflects a society divided by sectarianism, with all the paradoxes that entails

CommentDecember 15, 2019
The way post-war reconstruction was managed in the 1990s by the late prime minister Rafik Hariri, father of Saad, characterised the Lebanese political system. AP Photo
How Lebanon's political system brought the country to the brink

Post-war constitutional agreements embedded the corruption that plagues the country to this day

CommentNovember 27, 2019
Street protests erupted in Beirut after Lebanese President Michel Aoun defended the role of Hezbollah in government. AFP
Hezbollah could be hastening the demise of the system it is trying so hard to preserve

By first trying to deflate protester demands for better, less corrupt governance and economic management, the group's leader Hassan Nasrallah was seen as the defender of an intolerable status quo

CommentNovember 13, 2019
Just last week, Saad Hariri had presented a vague reform package last week that was rejected by the protesters. EPA
After Saad Hariri resignation, any new Lebanese government would be severely tested

Even if a government of technocrats takes over – as per popular demand – it would have to work against the vested interests of the political class

CommentOctober 30, 2019
Lebanon's Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil has presidential ambitions. Maxim Shemetov / Reuters
Gebran Bassil wants the presidency at any cost – even if Lebanon has to pay a heavy price

By making overtures to Bashar Al Assad, the foreign minister is prepared to compromise Lebanon's sovereignty in his bid for power

CommentOctober 16, 2019
The Lebanese central bank in Beirut. AP
The only way to address Hezbollah is through Iran – not by targeting Lebanon

American patience is waning but if it turns up the heat too high, Lebanon could risk becoming a failed state

CommentOctober 02, 2019
Place des Martyrs, a square in the heart of downtown Beirut, in the 1960s. Beirut was more relaxed than what it is today. Alamy Stock Photo
In search of Kim Philby's Beirut – when the city was all about soul

The Lebanese capital that the Cold War-era double agent once called home was full of beauty, intrigue and charm. Sadly, it is increasingly suffocated by concrete, cars, and generator fumes these days

CommentSeptember 18, 2019
Lebanese President Michel Aoun has publicly defended Hezbollah in the past. AP
Lebanon, Hezbollah and the danger of throwing the baby out with the bathwater

Moves to cut funding for state institutions will only cripple them and push an economy in crisis over the edge

CommentSeptember 04, 2019
Lebanese President Michel Aoun. Hussein Malla / pool via Reuters
Halfway into his presidency, Lebanon's Michel Aoun has failed to live up to expectations

The president filled a vacuum – but his many shortcomings have led some to question whether he is up to the job

CommentAugust 21, 2019
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