On October 13, 1990 the Lebanese civil war (1975-1990) officially ended. During this war, the Lebanese army split along sectarian lines and became the symbol of the society’s fragmentation. The rebuilding of the Lebanese Armed Forces, launched in 1990, was supposed to embody the “resurrection of the Lebanese nation”. The main goal of this process was to disarm the militias, reunify the army but also change its image and, by extension, the image of the Lebanese society. This presentation will focus on this new image, how it is conveyed and how it is received. I will first examine the “integrative” role of the army in a post-civil war conflict. Multi-ethnic armies are often considered as key actors in the nation-(re)building process. To what extent was it the case in Lebanon? I will then analyze different types of campaigns launched by the army in the 1990’s and 2000’s in order to present itself as the institution of all Lebanese, an institution where citizens of all religious groups mix and cooperate together for a “greater cause”. At this level, the role of the moudiriyyat al tawjih (the department of information) is crucial and will be analyzed in depth. This department is in charge of the army’s communication. For example, it initiated the “cult of martyrs” which is becoming more and more central in the way the military institution communicates about its “achievements”. I will finally analyze how this image is received by its main target: the Lebanese society. Although the Lebanese army is still very weak, and very often unable to play its role, it is the only institution that the Lebanese trust. In a post-conflict context, how does the creation of a new institutional image contribute to the re-invention of a nation? This is the main question of this presentation.
