14% of Lebanese Read Books 41% of Lebanese Ready To Use Arms

Events and experiences over the past years have confirmed that Lebanon is not a "country" in the legal and political context of the term but an "agreement" between 18 confessions to live on one land and find an appropriate framework (the state) to deal with their differences. If they respect this agreement, peace and prosperity are established; but if they fail to comply with it, wars and crises erupt. Understanding Lebanon's different confessions is a necessity to get to know the country's reality with its wars, conflicts and accords. Starting this issue, Ii Monthly will dedicate a section to talk about the 18 confessions, beginning with the Maronite confession. Information International, in collaboration with Dr. Charles Harb from the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the American University of Beirut, conducted a survey to investigate some key aspects of the socio-political landscape in a representative sample of the Lebanese population. The questionnaire consisted of several scales tapping into social identities, confessionalism, leadership affiliation, religiosity, perceived group threat, life satisfaction, and readiness for violence.