Lebanon when the rule of law falls: From state to open arena |
Nothing is more dangerous to a state than a temporary economic crisis-except the moment when the rule of law ceases to function as a binding authority and becomes a selective, negotiable concept. When truth is replaced by slander, accountability by defamation, and institutions by noise, the damage extends far beyond balance sheets and market confidence. At that point, the very idea of the state begins to unravel. What Lebanon is experiencing today is not a media dispute, a personal controversy, or an isolated failure of governance. It is a decisive test of whether the rule of law still exists as a living principle or has collapsed into symbolism.
Lebanon’s crisis has often been framed in economic terms: currency collapse, banking paralysis, capital flight, and shrinking investment. These realities are severe, but they are symptoms rather than causes. Economies do not collapse in isolation. They fail when legal protection evaporates, institutions lose authority, and accountability is replaced by impunity. In such environments, capital does not merely withdraw-it refuses to arrive. Trust does not erode gradually; it breaks decisively.
For those who invested in Lebanon not as a speculative venture but as a long-term commitment, the current moment represents a profound rupture. Investment, at its core, is not transactional. It is a partnership premised on mutual obligations: capital, employment, risk-sharing, and, above all, legal protection. When investors remain during periods of instability, absorb losses, preserve jobs, and continue operations despite adverse conditions, they are not exploiting weakness-they are expressing confidence in a state’s future capacity to recover. That confidence, however, is not infinite.
Lebanon today has crossed a critical threshold. What was once a challenging investment climate has become an environment of legal exposure. Individuals and institutions-whether investors, employers, or public figures-are subjected to orchestrated campaigns of defamation, false accusations, and media attacks conducted without evidence, due process, or consequence. This is not criticism. It is not investigative journalism. It is a breakdown of standards that transforms the public sphere into an open arena where reputations are assaulted without........