Politicians and warlords warn that getting rid of state-sponsored sectarianism could lead to chaos in Iraq and Lebanon. Protesters fed up with the system are willing to take that risk
leaders have fallen in the past year as did during the Arab spring. And still the wave of protests over corruption, unemployment and threadbare public services continues to sweep across the Middle East and north Africa. Turnover at the top has not mollified the masses, because rather than producing real change it has reshuffled entrenched elites. Particularly in Iraq and Lebanon, many of the protesters now want to tear down entire political systems. It is a dangerous moment.
The situation is similar in Lebanon, where the warlords who razed the country became politicians who loot it. The government has racked up huge debts to fund Sunni, Shia and Christian patronage schemes. The World Bank estimates that the waste associated with the power-sharing system costs Lebanon 9% ofeach year. The government cannot even keep the lights on. Or perhaps it does not want to, since the businessmen who sell generators are often connected to sectarian leaders.
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