The Lebanese Wars

Forthcoming, 2025, Columbia University Press

When is a civil war no longer a civil war?

“Civil war” is hardly ever a neutral term. Those who use it—or deny it—are usually making a political argument. Using sources from the United States and Lebanon, The Lebanese Wars demonstrates how the term “civil war” served competing political agendas among participants in Lebanon’s conflicts. Along the way, it offers new insights into theories of war and of the state as a form of political organization.