Atlas du Liban – Territoires et société

Through a series of beautifully drawn and presented maps, graphs and photographs, this Atlas tells the story of Lebanon’s transformation. It provides a cartographic synthesis of all the available data on Lebanon and its population. However, it is not simply a collection of maps and numbers; rather, it represents an in-depth study of the spatial, social, political and economic transformations that contemporary Lebanon has undergone.

Chapter 1 traces the historical development of Lebanon’s national construction and how it is still uncompleted. It is a study of the country’s administrative geography and provides a complementary look at the country’s regional geopolitical evolution. Chapter 2 examines Lebanon in the context of globalization. It maps the development of the diaspora since the end of the nineteenth century and discusses commercial exchanges, economic and financial partners, debt, international aid, remittances and language. It analyzes the changes in the role of Lebanon in the Middle East and concludes that globalization is a resource for Lebanon but also a weakness because it creates dependency. Chapter 3 looks at the population of Lebanon. It maps population distribution over the country’s territory and traces recent changes in demographic trends. It examines urban/rural distribution, the presence of foreign workers and how population distribution is linked to former organization and to society’s denominational and regional segmentation. Chapter 4 assesses recent territorial dynamics, including the effects of the civil war. It describes regional organization and the spread of urbanization, and looks at changes in the environment. Chapter 5 analyzes economic data for the country and highlights the concentration of activity in favour of Beirut. It looks at the role of agriculture and industry, and discusses the commercial, banking and tourism sectors. Chapter 6 explores the social aspects of this spatially unbalanced economy in terms of income, employment, education, infrastructure and medical facilities, and highlights the territorial inequalities. Chapter 7 provides a broad picture of the regional and infrastructure policies within the framework of post-civil war reconstruction – including where investments are taking place and policies concerning displaced people. These are to be understood in the light of “balanced development”, implying more allocations for peripheral and deprived areas. This sometime contradicts the imperatives of concentrating certain investments in Beirut in the name of economic competitiveness.
A postscript was added just prior to publication, which offers a first appraisal of the destruction and the spatial transformations caused by the 33-day war in 2006 and gives some information on international aid and the initial process of reconstruction.