Lebanon hasn't had a national census since the 1930s! Prof. Makdisi explains historical background to current crisis. 

Sectarian violence erupted in the streets of Beirut this week. This development is the manifestation of deep-rooted and unresolved issues in Lebanon, which include, but are not limited to, Lebanon's dysfunctional sectarian government system. As Professor Makdisi explains in our podcast conversation, for centuries, pluralism was a constant and celebrated feature of the Levant. Prior to WWI, different sects coexisted under the auspices of the Ottman Empire. But the sectarian government system that the French established in Lebanon after WWI created fissures along sectarian lines that continue to widen. The astonishing aspect of Lebanon's sectarian government is that it was initially meant as a temporary step towards forming a united, secular national government.  

Join our conversation with Professor Ussama Makdisi of Rice University to learn more about Lebanon's failed sectarian government, foreign interference and the current economic crisis. He is a Professor of History and the first holder of the Arab-American Educational Foundation Chair of Arab Studies at Rice University. Professor Makdisi has been a Visiting Professor at UC Berkeley, a Resident Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study, in Berlin, and was named a Carnegie Scholar in 2009. He was awarded the Berlin Prize and was a Fellow at the American Academy of Berlin.

Here is the link to Professor Makdisi's academic homepage, which includes a list of his books and other publications: https://profiles.rice.edu/faculty/ussama-makdisi.