Policymaking in Lebanon :potential offshore oil and gas discoveries -

Abstract

The prospective discovery of offshore gas deposits will have an impact on Lebanon’s energy situation, as it creates possibilities for policy change in the country’s electricity, industry and transportation sectors. To clarify the inner workings of the policymaking process related to Lebanon’s emerging oil and gas sector, this research has three objectives. First, to outline the policymaking process in Lebanon; second, to identify the key stakeholders that will impact oil and gas policy; and third, to explore how these actors will affect future policy and the direction of Lebanon’s petroleum sector. Using the multiple streams framework of John Kingdon (2003), the research sought to understand why the Lebanese government is yet to resolve two key policy issues: whether, and the extent to which, the Republic of Lebanon should regulate and manage the exploration, extraction, and utilization of its potential natural gas and petroleum resources. To this end, the research sought to map the policy interests and preferences of the critical stakeholders that operate within this policy domain. This research provides an overview of the political environment of Lebanon needed to evaluate the policymaking process and has the broad finding that policymaking in Lebanon is almost completely captured by the political elite. As a result of this capture of policymaking, the Lebanese state suffers from a limited capacity for policymaking in any context. More specifically, the research found that compounding factors affected this limited capacity to generate public policy including: (1) the limited consistency of generated policy; (2) the high turnover rate of prime ministers and their cabinets; (3) the lack of authority for policymaking and its implementation during periods of caretaker cabinets; and, (4) the limited input from stakeholders outside of government institutions. From the practical perspective, the findings generated will help Lebanese stakeholders frame important public policy issues, and m