The Origins of the Lebanese National Idea: 1840–1920

by Carol Hakim

In this fascinating study, Carol Hakim presents a new and original narrative on the origins of the Lebanese national idea. Hakim’s study reconsiders conventional accounts that locate the origins of Lebanese nationalism in a distant legendary past and then trace its evolution in a linear and gradual manner. She argues that while some of the ideas and historical myths at the core of Lebanese nationalism appeared by the mid-nineteenth century, a coherent popular nationalist ideology and movement emerged only with the establishment of the Lebanese state in 1920. Hakim reconstructs the complex process that led to the appearance of fluid national ideals among members of the clerical and secular Lebanese elite, and follows the fluctuations and variations of these ideals up until the establishment of a Lebanese state. The book is an essential read for anyone interested in the evolution of nationalism in the Middle East and beyond.

Genres: Lebanon, History, Middle East

376 pages, Hardcover

First published January 19, 2013

Reviews

[Jerome · Rating 4 out of 5]

The strength of this book is in the excellent research skills of Hakim and her outstanding critical analysis.
She examines events glossed over or not mentioned at all by others, in detail and at length. She brings new details to light and argues new ideas very effectively.

Hakim is a brilliant thinker and excellent researcher, however this book is poorly written and poorly edited. It’s hard to read and the only reason I stuck with it was for sheer enjoyment of her critical skills, not the writing abilities.
It’s exceedingly dense and uneven in pace. Some paragraphs are very long and overly detailed, others short and summary. Sentences run long and are heavy with adverbs and there’s often significant overlap from chapter to chapter.

Such a fine thinker deserves a much better editor and I look forward to Hakim’s next book.

[Naim Frewat · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book of the year. Every Lebanese should read this book. References make up 34% of the book. Fantastic work!

[Omar Abro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hakim traces the origins of the Lebanese idea back into mid 19-century. The seeds of this national idea were sown during a turbulent period of Mount Lebanon, within a general spell of reform and European meddling in the Ottoman Empire. She chronicles the development of this nationalist idea throughout the “Long Peace”, the extended period of peace (1860-1914) in Mount Lebanon under the nascent political system known as Mutasarifiya. She describes the interaction of the Lebanese nationalists with other nationalists (Ottomanism, Syrianism, Arabism) and makes clear the fact that non of these aspirations or ideals was an unequivocal, conspicious, or robust nationalist project but every one had its own tentative elements and conditionalities.

A superbly reasearched piece of work. References & bibliography makes one-third of the book.

On the other hand, overly long and complex sentences are common which makes following the idea tedious. Also, Hakim had been unnecessarily redundant on some points which albeit fundamental, were overemphathised.