Les relations syro-libanaises peuvent être considérées comme l'une des questions contemporaines les plus sensibles et les plus délicates. La raison doit être recherchée dans la particularité de l'union historique qui s'est nouée entre les deux pays, qui ne furent séparés par aucune frontière avant l'indépendance du Liban en 1943, formant ainsi un seul peuple dans un seul Etat. Compte tenu des relations historiques entre ces deux pays, la Syrie a toujours laissé planer un doute sur l'indépendance du Liban. Ainsi ce petit pays se présenta, pour la Syrie, comme son ventre mou, ce qui obligea la Syrie à le protéger contre toute agression extérieure, afin de garantir sa sécurité. Cette attitude s'est traduite par l'intervention militaire syrienne au Liban durant la guerre civile de 1975, dans le cadre des Forces arabes de dissuasion, qui constituaient la seule force pacificatrice au Liban. L'accord du Taëf de 1989, qui mit fin à la guerre civile libanaise, consolida et légalisa les relations sécuritaires et économiques syro-libanaises, à travers la signature de traités entre les deux pays. Mais la question de la présence syrienne au Liban et de son influence sur sa souveraineté fut mise à l'ordre du jour principalement après le retrait israélien du Liban en 2000.Le facteur déclencheur qui rompit ces relations syro–libanaises privilégiées se produisit suite à l'assassinat du Premier ministre Rafiq Hariri en 2005, qui se traduisit par le retrait définitif syrien du Liban. En adoptant un plan chronologique des événements, cette thèse présente les principales étapes des relations politiques et économiques entre la Syrie et le Liban, les facteurs régionaux et internationaux qui ont pesé sur elles, et leurs répercussions sur les relations syro-libanaises ; elle fournit par ailleurs des éléments nouveaux sur ces relations, qui prennent racine sur le passé et dégagent une vision de l'avenir. / Syro-Lebanese relations: Past crises and political changes.Syro-Lebanese relations may be considered as one of today's most sensitive and thorny issues. The reason for this should be sought in the special nature of the historical union built between two countries which had never been divided by a frontier until the independence of Lebanon in 1943, so were a single people within a single State.Given the historical relationship between the two countries, Syria has always been somewhat ambivalent over Lebanese independence. This little country developed into Syria's soft underbelly, so Syria was forced to protect it from outside aggression in order to ensure its own safety. This stance resulted in the Syrian military intervention in the Lebanese civil war of 1975, under cover of the Arab Deterrent Force which was the only peacemaking force in Lebanon. The Ta'if Agreement of 1989, which ended the Lebanese civil war, consolidated and legalised Syro-Lebanese relations regarding security and economics by means of treaties signed by both countries. But the issue of Syria's presence in Lebanon and its influence on sovereignty was accelerated, especially after Israel withdrew from Lebanon in 2000.The essential event which disturbs the special Syro-Lebanese relationship was the assassination of the Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri in 2005, after which Syrian troops withdrew from Lebanon.This thesis takes these events in chronological order to discuss the major stages in the political and economic relationship between Syria and Lebanon, the regional and international factors brought to bear on it and their repercussions on Syro-Lebanese relations. It sheds a new light on these relations which are rooted in the past and moot a vision for the future.

To a large degree, historical analyses of the Levantine region tend to focus primarily upon martial interaction and state formation. However, perhaps of equitable impact is the chronology of those interactions which are cultural in nature. The long-term formative effect of cultural imperialism and cultural bleed can easily be as influential as the direct alterations imposed by martial invasion. While this study does not attempt to establish comparative causal weight or catalytic impact between these types of interactions, it does contend that the cultural evolution of the Levant has been significantly influenced by external interaction for a period of time extending beyond the Levantine Islamic Expansion. This study presents a chronological examination of the region from the pre-Expansion Period through the Mandate Period, focused upon relevant cultural structures. Specifically, emphasis is placed upon religious, ethnic, and nationalistic identity development, sociolinguistic shifts, and institutional changes within the societal structure. The primary conclusion of this study is that significant evidence exists to support a long-term historical narrative of externally influenced Levantine cultural evolution, inclusive of both adaptive and reactive interactions.

No description available.