Syria and Lebanon: International Relations and Diplomacy in the Middle East (Library of Modern Middle East Studies) - Softcover

This book is a model of the effective use of IR theory to understand the great complexity of international politics in the Middle East. Taku Osoegawa provides a meticulous and rich narrative of the development of Lebanon-Syria relations over time, exposing their multi-dimensional complexity.

Professor Raymond Hinnebusch, University of St Andrews

Taku Osoegawa has produced a most interesting study of a subject which forms the very heart of politics in the Middle East, and yet is so often overlooked by the policy community. Theoretically rich, the book... can also provide a framework for trying to understand the implications for Lebanon of the unravelling of the Syrian state since the 2011 uprising.

Professor Anoush Ehteshami, Durham University

[This book] will be useful first of all to those who seek to combine the historical narrative and theories of political science. At the same time, through this prism the book offers interesting insights into the course of Lebanese history for both historians and students of Lebanon s history in general. --Professor Eyal Zisser, Tel Aviv Univeristy in Diplomacy & Statecraft

The so-called Cedar Revolution in Lebanon, triggered by the assassination of the former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri in February 2005, brought to an end three decades of Syrian military presence in the country. Here, Taku Osoegawa challenges the commonly-held claim that Lebanon and its leaders were simple puppets of the Syrian regime during the thirty years characterised as Lebanon under Syrian hegemony. Furthermore, by examining Lebanon s relations with Syria from the establishment of the Asad regime to the current violence in Syria, Osoegawa concludes that the Lebanese government has had its own reasons for aligning with Syria. As the Lebanese-Syrian relationship has had an enormous impact on the international relations of the Middle East, this book is essential reading for those interested in the contemporary regional dynamics."