The legality of Syrian intervention in the Lebanese civil war: 1975-1976

Ajaj, Ahmad Mahmoud (1990) The legality of Syrian intervention in the Lebanese civil war: 1975-1976. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

The Lebanese civil war is, undoubtedly, one of the most protracted civil wars that have ever been witnessed in the last two decades. Many interventions have occurred in Lebanon and most of them were the subject of discussion and legal analysis. Of all these intervention, the Syrian intervention has attracted no academic or scholarly attention whatsoever. It is the main concern of the present thesis to discuss the Lebanese civil war and the legality of the Syrian intervention under the rules of international law. It specifically and exclusively focuses on the Syrian intervention during the years 1975-1976.

In evaluating the Syrian intervention, of necessity, the thesis discuses in the first and second chapters the norm of non-intervention, the definition of intervention, and the attitudes and practices of the Superpowers towards the norm of non-intervention. Moreover, it provides a thorough review of the history of Lebanon, the causes of the conflict, and the legal nature of the conflict.

Having identified the nature of the Lebanese conflict, the rest of the thesis deals with the legality of the Syrian intervention under the rules of international law which are applicable to internal conflict. The discussion of Syrian intervention is dealt with from four legal perspectives: intervention under the rebel's invitation; humanitarian intervention; Lebanese government's invitation, and the effect of invitation on the Lebanese right to self-determination; and finally the legitimization of Syrian intervention through its inclusion in the peace keeping force of the Arab League.

The out come of the discussion establishes the illegality of the Syrian intervention and the ineffectiveness of regional organizations, namely the Arab League, in responding to civil war. It also proves that, so long as the norm of non -intervention is not respected by powerful states, small states will be encouraged to break the norm and undertake intervention; and unless the international community responds positively to the norm of non-intervention, anarchy will be the prevailing norm with serious implications for the survival of mankind in the era of nuclear weapons.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Subjects: K Law > K Law (General); D History General and Old World > DS Asia
• Colleges/Schools: College of Social Sciences > School of Law
• Supervisor's Name: Grant, Prof. John P.
• Date of Award: 1990
• Depositing User: Geraldine Coyle
• Unique ID: glathesis:1990-1036
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 21 Aug 2009
• Last Modified: 24 Apr 2018 15:17
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/1036