Networking Postwar Lebanon: A System Analysis Model of Re-Building a Shared Knowledge Society

Abstract

This thesis examines the reconstruction of Lebanon following the war with Israel in the summer of 2006. Based on Stehr’s notion of the contemporary global economy (1994), the thesis offers a comprehensive account of how Lebanon used a global network to rebuild its infrastructure following the war and questions if the country is able to integrate fundamental elements of a knowledge-based society to participate in a worldwide economy and ensure future prosperity. Drawing on Luhmann’s social system’s theory (2002), the importance of shared objectives in collaborative projects and the recent importance of sustainable development theory in international relations, the thesis explores the communication practices used to organize this large-scale project. The study utilizes a qualitative research design with a macroscopic conceptual approach to offer a general understanding of the different systems that cooperate to aid in the reconstruction efforts. In-depth interviews are conducted with ten key informants, combined with the analysis of governmental reports, to identify significant investments offered by the international community and the different objectives of those involved in the project. A model illustrates the dynamics of these interactions, and helps to identify the areas most important to the country’s knowledge society. The protection of the country’s democratic system is identified as the overarching and shared objective of all those who contributed to the reconstruction of Lebanon, a value that is of great significance to a knowledge-based society.