The so called Cedar Revolution in Lebanon triggered by the assassination of the former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri in February 2005 brought to an end three decades of Syrian military presence in the country Here Taku Osoegawa challenges the commonly held claim that Lebanon and its leaders were simple puppets of the Syrian regime during the thirty years characterised as Lebanon under Syrian hegemony Further by examining Lebanon s relations with Syria from the establishment of the Asad regime to the current violence in Syria Osoegawa concludes that the Lebanese government has had its own reasons for aligning with Syria As the Lebanese Syrian relationship has had an enormous impact on the international relations of the Middle East this book is essential reading for those interested in the contemporary regional dynamics Syria and Lebanon International Relations and Diplomacy in the Middle East Library of Modern Middle East Studies 327.5691 O836 2013 English