[20211108]IF11617_黎巴嫩.pdf

https:/crsreports.congress.gov Updated November 8, 2021Lebanon Lebanon, a country of 5.5 million people, faces the worst economic crisis in its history amid ongoing political unrest, the spread of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), and in the aftermath of an August 2020 explosion that severely damaged the port of Beirut and surrounding areas. Lebanon hosts the largest number of refugees in the world per capita (over 1 million, mostly Syrians), which has raised social tensions and strained public services. U.S. policy has focused on countering the influence of Iran and Hezbollah and on bolstering the Lebanese state while calling for reforms to counter corruption and mismanagement. Lebanons leaders have warned that the countrys economic crisis could lead to a collapse of state institutions. Government Lebanons confessional political system divides power among its three largest religious communities (Maronite Christian, Sunni, Shia), to which it allocates the posts of president, prime minister, and parliamentary speaker, respectively. Lebanese President Michel Aoun was elected in 2016 by Lebanons parliament for a six-year term. Aoun is affiliated with the Free Patriotic Movement (C