Chehabism (also spelt Shehabism or Shihabism; ) is a political ideology in Lebanon which follows the principles of former president and army general

Fouad Chehab Fouad Abdallah Chehab ( / ; 19 March 1902 – 25 April 1973) was a Lebanese general and statesman who served as president of Lebanon from 1958 to 1964. He is considered to be the founder of the Lebanese Army after Lebanon gained independence fr ...

. The ideology later influenced the presidency of

Charles Helou Charles Helou (25 September 1913 – 7 January 2001) was a Lebanese politician who served as the 4th president of Lebanon from 1964 to 1970. Early life and education Born in Beirut on 25 September 1913, Helou was the scion of a powerful Maron ...

and Élias Serkis. The writer Marwan Harb is considered one of the most prominent authors who have written about Chehabism and analyzed it as a modernizing political project.

Ideology

Chehab's rule was a delicate balancing act of maintaining relative harmony between the nation's

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

and

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

populations. He followed the path and principles of dialogue and moderation coupled with public reforms, which came to be known as Chehabism. Generally deeply respected for his honesty and integrity, Chehab is credited with a number of reform plans and regulations to create a modern administration and efficient public services. That eventually brought him into conflict with the traditional feudal, confessional, and clan-based politicians, who saw their grip on power diminishing.

Development

1958–1963

Fouad Chehab's presidency was a delicate balancing act of maintaining relative harmony between the nation's

and

populations. He followed the path and principles of dialogue and moderation coupled with public reforms, which came to be known as Chehabism. Chehab is credited with a number of reform plans and regulations to create a modern administration and efficient public services especially after the

1958 Lebanon crisis The 1958 Lebanon crisis was a political crisis in Lebanon caused by political and religious tensions in the country that included an American military intervention, which lasted for around three months until President Camille Chamoun, who had re ...

. That eventually brought him into conflict with the traditional feudal, confessional, and clan-based politicians, who saw their grip on power diminishing. The alliance between Chehab and Lebanese prime minister

Rashid Karami Rashid Karami (; 30 December 1921 – 1 June 1987) was a Lebanese statesman. He is considered one of the most important political figures in Lebanon for more than 30 years, including during much of the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990), and serve ...

, a staunch

Arab nationalist Arab nationalism () is a political ideology asserting that Arabs constitute a single nation. As a traditional nationalist ideology, it promotes Arab culture and civilization, celebrates Arab history, the Arabic language and Arabic literatur ...

, soon left Karami in effective control of the Lebanese government. The most pressing issue that was first to cause problems for Helou was the Israeli diversion of the

Jordan River The Jordan River or River Jordan (, ''Nahr al-ʾUrdunn''; , ''Nəhar hayYardēn''), also known as ''Nahr Al-Sharieat'' (), is a endorheic river in the Levant that flows roughly north to south through the Sea of Galilee and drains to the Dead ...

1964–1970

was elected to succeed Fouad Chehab as president by the National Assembly in 1964. The

Six-Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...

of 1967 strained sectarian relations in Lebanon. Many Muslims wanted Lebanon to join the Arab war effort, while many Christians wished to eschew participation.

Downfall

Chehab was widely expected to contest the presidential election of 1970 but he declared that his experience in office had convinced him that the people of Lebanon were not ready to put aside traditional or feudal politics or to support him in building a modern state. He chose to endorse his protégé,

Elias Sarkis Elias ( ; ) is the hellenized version for the name of Elijah (; ; , or ), a prophet in the Northern Kingdom of Israel in the 9th century BC, mentioned in several holy books. Due to Elias' role in the scriptures and to many later associated tradit ...

, instead. In the closest and possibly most controversial presidential election in Lebanese history, the National Assembly elected Frangieh to the Presidency of the Republic on 23 September 1970. He owed his upset victory over Elias Sarkis, the official candidate of the Chehabi regime to a last minute change of mind by

Kamal Jumblatt Kamal Fouad Jumblatt (; 6 December 1917 – 16 March 1977) was a Lebanese politician who founded the Progressive Socialist Party. He led the National Movement during the Lebanese Civil War. He was a major ally of the Palestine Liberation Organ ...

, whose supporters in the Parliament switched their votes to Frangieh.

References