One lesson from Lebanon’s recent history stands out above all others: in divided political societies such as Lebanon and Iraq, coalition democracy is preferable to majoritarian winner-takes-all democracy. In Lebanon, the danger of one community monopolizing power over others is avoided because the Lebanese constitution imposes permanent power-sharing arrangements on all major communities.
黎巴嫩近代史给人们的教训中，有一个比其它都引人注目，即：在诸如黎巴嫩和伊拉克这样的政权分掌社会，联盟民主体制比多数选举制的胜者全拿型民主更受青睐。黎巴嫩避免了一个教派独揽大权的风险，因为黎巴嫩的宪法强制性地规定了主要教派之间 永久性 的分权。这些规定被同样应用于议会和行政机构。