Reprint. Originally published in hbk. in 2008.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 275-277) and index.

Author's note -- Maps -- Introduction -- A collection of tribes -- The hollow state -- The Palestinians : victims and villains -- Woe be to the state -- Identity in pursuit of a nation -- The rise of the Shia -- A tale of four countries -- Islam as politics -- Afterword -- Acknowledgments -- Selected bibliography -- Index.

Like many Arab countries, Lebanon's population possesses no common identity strong enough to resolve internal struggles pitting tribe against tribe, religion against religion, sect against sect, or region against region. Nor have Lebanon's hollow central governments been able to prevent foreign powers from fighting proxy wars within its borders. Adding to the instability of the state is virulent discord resulting from the clash of modernity with centuries of tradition, the gaping divide between rich and poor that drives the disenfranchised to seek social justice through political Islam, and the essential need to turn a fragile conglomerate of shifting alliances within the boundaries of a state into an economically and politically viable nation. It is this tumult in Lebanon that illuminates not only the challenges that Arabs pose to themselves but also the fear and hostility that arise in response to perceived threats from the West.--From publisher description.