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May 26, 20212 min read

Can Swiss Federalism work for Lebanon?

by Jad Chehayeb





This article will be studying how Swiss federalism can be applied in Lebanon.


Confoederatio Helvetica


As mentioned in the constitution of the Swiss Confederation, the latter is made up of “The People and the Cantons of Zurich, Bern, Lucerne, Uri, Schwyz, Obwalden and Nidwalden, Glarus, Zug, Fribourg, Solothurn, Basel Stadt and Basel Landschaft, Schaffhausen, Appenzell Ausserrhoden and Appenzell Innerrhoden, St. Gallen, Graubünden, Aargau, Thurgau, Ticino, Vaud, Valais, Neuchâtel, Geneva, and Jura”.

Each Group administers and handles its own affairs within its own Canton/Region under laws each Group decides to impose upon itself.


Lebanon’s Demographic Features


Several demographic studies show that Lebanon is the assemblage of 4 main cultural groups also referred to as ethno-cultural communities. These communities are: Chiaa, Christians, Sunni and Druze. Individuals of said communities share amongst themselves specific values, beliefs, history and background. In the actual scenario of a Swiss-like Lebanese Federation, Lebanon would house 4 different Ethno Cultural Groups namely: Sunni, Chiaa, Druse and Christian.The result of which is a four 4 cantons federal country. So, how does all of this work?


Federal Governing


This Federal vision of Lebanon would have 3 governance layers: Municipalities, Canton/Region, and Federal. However, within the Christian Ethno-Cultural Groups, there are several communities (Armenians, Orthodox, etc). Citizens of said Cantons would elect the relevant Canton’s Prime Minister along with the Cantonal Parliament. A study by Iyad Boustany concluded that the number of each Canton’s MPs is expected to be: 100 Christians, 100 Chiaa, 100 Sunni and 25 Druse, keeping in mind that the number of MPs must be proportionate to the overall population and that there should be 1 MP for each 10,000 inhabitants. All 4 Cantonal Prime Ministers make up the Federal Government, and all the elected MPs, which are approximately 325, make up the Federal Parliament. The Cantonal Parliament should elect its President (PM), Vice-President and secretaries and the Federal Parliament shall select its President from the four 4 Cantonal Parliament presidents, beginning with the eldest and ending with the youngest (rotating the Federal Presidency with one 1 year mandate for each of the four 4 presidents of the Cantonal Parliaments).Vice-Presidents and secretaries are also elected from the similar positions in each Cantonal Parliament. The Federal Government would command the Federal Armed Forces and the Cantonal Prime Minister would command the Cantonal Armed Forces.


Maps of the Cantons by Iyad Boustany


The total number of Lebanese cities/towns is 1633, in accordance to this fact, the Christian Canton would consist of 781 cities/towns, the Chiite Canton would be composed of 353, the Sunni Canton would include 272 cities/towns, and finally the Druze Canton would be composed of 126 cities/towns. Further studies must be done to specifically identify as to what Canton the other 101 cities/towns belong to.


Amidst the current economic downfall that Lebanon is going through, several politicians, and political activists/entities are conducting research to identify what type of system/constitution/government is best suitable to stunt this economic collapse and save the Lebanese local currency. But the real question resides, is the Swiss federalism model feasible on the Lebanese ground and is it accepted by all 4 ethno-cultural communities?


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