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John P. Spagnolo, France and Ottoman Lebanon, 1861–1914 , St. Antony's Middle East Monographs, no. 7 (London: Ithaca Press, 1977). Pp. vi + 339.

Although the Maronite community had previously benefitted from its sectarian and economic connections with France, this situation would change during the period of the Mutasarrifiya. After 1861, it became clear that the French government would not actively pressure the Ottoman Porte on behalf of its co-religionists. As a signatory party of the 1861 Reglement, an agreement which transformed Mount Lebanon into a'semi-autonomous region, France was now obligated to cooperate with the other European powers on Lebanese matters. It was expected that the Maronite community would form a loyal, Catholic province of the Ottoman Empire, and this expectation would also satisfy the Porte as it would illustrate the successful nature of Ottoman decentralization. Of course, this particular era in Lebanese history possessed its share of political difficulties. Though designed to promote equality among the numerous sectarian communities, it was on the basis of its demographical strength that the Maronite community would affect the nature of the Reglement. Furthermore! when aided by the administration of either a Maronite, or an Uniate, mutasarrif, this particular community could directly secure many political advantages. Leading to great political rivalry between the Maronite and Orthodox communities, this situation was actually a manifestation of the Franco-Russian diplomatic rivalry in the Near East. At the expense of their co-religionists, however, the French were forced to compromise with the Russians as the diplomatic tensions with Germany increased during the latter half of the nineteenth century. Therefore, on the eve of World War I, the French had not envisaged any independence for Mount Lebanon, albeit they had not approved the resurgence of direct Ottoman control as advocated by the Committee of Union and Progress. Unfortunately, the leaders of the various sectarian communities were unable to separate the secular and sectarian aspects of their political views, but it was equally unfortunate that France embarked upon its imperialistic policies in the Near East with the initiation of hostilities in 1914. While the author does not cite any definite parallels, many of the problems which affect the modern Lebanese republic, such as the inability of its political leadership to distinguish sectarian preferances from secular issues, originated during the era of the Mutasarrifiya. This particular problem has hindered the progress of the existing state as it must operate upon the principles of political sectarianism. Therefore, in a constitutional sense, the Reglementof 1861 possessed a more democratic nature than the National Pact of 1943 as the former agreement theoretically designated equal political rights for all sectarian communities while the latter agreement has assigned specific political responsibilities to certain sectarian communities. Furthermore, another problem of this particular nature involves the relative weakness of the central Lebanese government and its inability to control the leaders of the dissenting sectarian communities. Even the first Mutasarrif, Daud Pasha, could not effectively control the Maronite leader, Yusuf Karam, as the latter's private militia outnumbered the military forces of the central government. Similarly, the new Lebanese president, Elias Sarkis, is unable to disarm and control those Maronite leaders who insist on prolonging the current Lebanese hostilities. Such century-old problems will require much time before the proper solutions are imposed.