The dynamics of energy policy in Lebanon when research, politics, and policy fail to intersect

Energy Policies and Domestic Politics in the MENA Region in the Aftermath of the Arab Upheavals: The Cases of Lebanon, Libya, and KSA

“…Energy policy is no exception. In fact, one could argue that in some countries, there is no policy agenda but rather a political agenda while in others, there is a compilation of projects or initiatives rather than a comprehensive national energy policy (Khodr and Hasbani ). The complexity of addressing energy issues and making context‐specific decisions is further exacerbated by the unique politics of most of these countries in addition to the lack of an institutionalized approach that ensures the efficient use of the energy system.…”

“…The political factions with their business oligarchy subdivisions and militias have already managed to plan Lebanon's oil race by forming the Petroleum Administration, the governing body for the oil and gas sector, during the tenure of the Mikati government. In Lebanon, energy policies and politics are strongly interrelated (Khodr and Hasbani ). Dispute over the deposits may be a flashpoint for future confrontations between Hezbollah and Israel.…”

“…The long‐standing electricity shortage is another example of the interplay between politics and policies in Lebanon. Despite the calls for a reform of the Electricité du Liban (EDL) and the numerous studies (64 studies in the last 15 years) conducted to resolve the related issues, no real progress has been made (Khodr and Hasbani ). According to a World Bank seminar from , this is mainly attributed to different factors, lack of political will and the political nature of decisions being the major ones.…”

“…There are already many obstacles to the development of comprehensive, effective, efficient, and evidence‐based energy policies in many of the MENA countries. These include but are not restricted to: (1) the nontargeted, inconsistent, and insufficient training in sound governance and its application; (2) the institutional dysfunctions and the existing organizational challenges; (3) the lack of political stability; (4) the politicization of public policies and of public administration; and (5) the weak link between researchers and policy makers (Khodr and Hasbani ). Despite the research output generated and the policy initiatives taken, these remain rather fragmented and often duplicated as highlighted previously in the case of Lebanon; although it might be the case in many developing countries, the reasons differ among the three countries under study, and some new obstacles are surfacing as a result of the Arab uprisings.…”

Scientific Research in the Developing Countries: The Challenges We Need to Overcome

“…The private grants and contracts should be considered as well [7]. However, the starting points would be to convince the decisionsmakers [8,9] how important is linking the scientific research with the development to the future of the country. It will allow result in a better health care [10,11] and more crops productions [12] in addition to a well-planned industry.…”