The Bustros Palace, headquarters of the Lebanese Foreign Affairs Ministry. (Credit: NNA)
Two pillars of a sovereign state — diplomacy and culture — are finally in capable hands with the appointment of Ministers Joe Rajji and Ghassan Salameh in the Salam government. With culture at the core of their careers and analysis, their leadership promises a true renewal of Lebanon’s soft power, particularly in cultural diplomacy.Lebanon’s identity is, above all, cultural. Unlike other states in the region whose borders were drawn by major powers, like the Sykes-Picot Agreement, Lebanon emerged from a long historical gestation that crystallized in the Nahda. This allowed the Lebanese diaspora, organized in literary and political clubs in Paris, Cairo, New York and São Paulo, to lobby effectively, particularly with France. Today, a similar effort is needed for Lebanon’s rebirth. But cultural diplomacy cannot be reduced to rhetoric — it...
Two pillars of a sovereign state — diplomacy and culture — are finally in capable hands with the appointment of Ministers Joe Rajji and Ghassan Salameh in the Salam government. With culture at the core of their careers and analysis, their leadership promises a true renewal of Lebanon’s soft power, particularly in cultural diplomacy.Lebanon’s identity is, above all, cultural. Unlike other states in the region whose borders were drawn by major powers, like the Sykes-Picot Agreement, Lebanon emerged from a long historical gestation that crystallized in the Nahda. This allowed the Lebanese diaspora, organized in literary and political clubs in Paris, Cairo, New York and São Paulo, to lobby effectively, particularly with France. Today, a similar effort is needed for Lebanon’s rebirth. But cultural diplomacy cannot be reduced to...