Lebanese National Movement

Kamal Jumblatt

The Lebanese National Movement (LNM) is a political coalition of leftist and nationalist political parties.

The Lebanese National Movement started in 1969 and was formally launched in 1973, led by Kamal Jumblatt and his Progressive Socialist Party. The movement called for greater democratization and economic reforms. It is a progressive secular movement and it was related to Arab Nationalism and supported the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). The LNM was the direct political counterpart of the Lebanese Front, which was a coalition of conservative parties led by the Phalange Party (currently known as the Kataeb party).

The Origin of the Lebanese National Movement

The Lebanese National Movement was formed during a time of national unrest in Lebanon due to an agricultural crisis, a high cost of living and rising inequality. Because of the unrest, the government of Saeb Salam lacked national successes and moved towards more repressive measures to prevent turmoil. The government proposed a law to limit the freedom of association and thought; this caused an opposition group to arise which would later be known as the Lebanese National Movement.

The LNM stood out in several ways. First, it was one of the first Arab movements to support Palestinian resistance. Both parties benefited from this; it helped the Palestinians in their struggle for existence and the LNM to gain an important foothold in Lebanese politics. Second, the LNM was a coalition of parties with very different ideologies such as Nasserists, Baathists, Communists and Marxist-Leninists. The leading organizations of the LNM were the Progressive Socialist Party of Kamal Jumblatt, the Organization for Communist Action in Lebanon and the Lebanese Communist Party.

The Rise of the Lebanese National Movement

During the Lebanese Civil War that started in April 1975, many Lebanese Arab Nationalists and leftist movements worked together in the Lebanese National Movement. In August 1975 the LNM released the ‘Transitional Program for the Democratic Reform of the Political System in Lebanon’, demanding a political system in which all social groups would be represented. This political change was enforced with military power, which contributed to the violence and chaos that already existed in the Lebanese Civil War. However, the reform never came, the plan was too ambitious. Not only was the LNM a political force, during the civil war, militias of the LNM fought together with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) against the militias of the Lebanese Forces,a front that contained mostly Lebanese Christians. During the civil war, the LNM experienced its heyday. In March 1976 The PLO-LNM forces controlled the areas where 73% of the population of Lebanon lived. However, not long after this military and political success, the LNM began to lose ground.

Decline and Succession

In late spring 1976, Syrian troops became involved in the Lebanese Civil War and openly broke with the Lebanese National Movement. Without the support of Syria, the LNM lost influence. On March 16, 1977 Kamal Jumblatt was murdered. It is believed he was murdered by Syrian sympathizers. The murder had a major impact and weakened the LNM, considering it was an early period in the Lebanese Civil War. The LNM suspended its work after the murder. When foreign countries became more involved in the war, including Syria, Iraq and Egypt, different organizations of the LNM played different roles in this phase of the war. On June 20, 1980 Walid Jumblatt was officially elected as president of the LNM. In the last years of the Lebanese Civil War, the LNM became divided and lost the influence it once had.

References

  1. 1 2 "AUB: The Lebanese Civil War and the Taif Agreement". ddc.aub.edu.lb. Retrieved 2026-05-23.
  2. ↑ Barbee, Lynne (1977). "Interviews with the Lebanese National Movement: Introduction". MERIP Reports (61): 3–5. doi:10.2307/3011235. ISSN 0047-7265. JSTOR 3011235.
  3. 1 2 Traboulsi, Fawwaz (2012). "From Social Crisis to Civil War (1968–1975)". A History of Modern Lebanon. Pluto Press. pp. 157–190. doi:10.2307/j.ctt183p4f5.16. ISBN 978-0-7453-3274-1. JSTOR j.ctt183p4f5.16. Retrieved 2026-05-15. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  4. ↑ Coates Ulrichsen, Kristian, ed. (2018). A dictionary of politics in the Middle East: over 300 entries. Oxford reference online (First ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. Progressive Socialist Party. ISBN 978-0-19-183527-8.
  5. 1 2 Barbee, Lynne (1977). "Interviews with the Lebanese National Movement: Introduction". MERIP Reports (61): 3–5. doi:10.2307/3011235. ISSN 0047-7265. JSTOR 3011235.
  6. ↑ Chamie, Joseph (1976). "The Lebanese Civil War: An Investigation into the Causes". World Affairs. 139 (3): 171–188. ISSN 0043-8200. JSTOR 20671682.
  7. ↑ Rowayheb, Marwan George (2011). "Political Change and the Outbreak of Civil War: The Case of Lebanon". Civil Wars. 13 (4): 414–436. doi:10.1080/13698249.2011.629871.
  8. ↑ George, Nathaniel (2022-08-01). ""Our 1789"". Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East. 42 (2): 470–488. doi:10.1215/1089201X-9987957. ISSN 1089-201X.
  9. ↑ Rayess, Rami Hassib (2018). "The Lebanese National Movement (LNM) political reform program : an assessment". hdl:10938/21567. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  10. ↑ Rowayheb, Marwan George (2006). "Lebanese militias: A new perspective". Middle Eastern Studies. 42 (2): 303–318. doi:10.1080/00263200500417801.
  11. 1 2 George, Nathaniel (2022-08-01). ""Our 1789"". Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East. 42 (2): 470–488. doi:10.1215/1089201X-9987957. ISSN 1089-201X.
  12. ↑ Rayess, Rami Hassib (2018). "The Lebanese National Movement (LNM) political reform program : an assessment". hdl:10938/21567. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  13. ↑ "Israel in Lebanon, 1975-1982 - MERIP". Middle East Research and Information Project. 1982-09-11. Retrieved 2026-05-22.