Cultural lessons while collecting quantitative data from the government and qualitative data from politicians : the case of distributing economic resources in Lebanońs Second Republic / Aref N. Hassan
Lebanońs First Republic collapsed in 1975 due to the civil war. Among the grievances that led to that war was that economic resources were not being distributed proportionately among the different religious and sectarian groups. This case study intended to find out if the Second Republic in Lebanon rectified that problem by distributing its economic resources proportionately among communities. To test our hypothesis, we collected quantitative data from different government ministries and offices and qualitative data by interviewing various Lebanese politicians and elected officials representing the different communal groups. Our findings indicated that indeed government resources were being distributed proportionately under the Second Republic, thus addressing one major source of communal grievances that led to the collapse of the First Republic
