Welcome back to Political Lenses with international relations expert Dr. Omar Abdel Sattar—political analyses of events affecting the regional and global scene. • Political Lenses ───── Don't miss watching yesterday's video: • Iran takes a defensive stance to confront T... ???? • Joseph Aoun and Nawaf Salam broke the Shiite duo in Lebanon • Joseph Aoun broke Hezbollah's alliance with the Maronites, and Nawaf Salam broke Amal's alliance with Hezbollah. With the presence of Nawaf Salam and his election as Prime Minister of Lebanon, the ceiling of the Amal alliance with Hezbollah was shattered, just as the Hadaballah alliance with the Maronites from the quarter of Aoun and Bassil was shattered with the election of Joseph Aoun. Thus, the ceiling of Hezbollah’s alliances with the Shiites of Amal and its alliances with Michel Aoun collapsed, so the Christians were freed from it, as well as the Shiites, the Druze and the Sunnis, and the ceiling fell on Iran’s head in the region. When we talk about Joseph Aoun and Nawaf Salam, we are talking about a seventh chapter that is being implemented by them in cooperation with the international system, whether 1701, 1559 and 1680. The Nawaf Salam we are talking about is the author of the book Between Lebanon Yesterday and Tomorrow or the Third Lebanese Republic. He is the one who is here, a professor of political science at the American University of Beirut and Middle Eastern history at the Sorbonne in France, and Lebanon’s ambassador to the United Nations, then a rotating president of the Security Council, before ending up as a judge at the International Court of Justice. His many positions did not prevent him from expanding his circle of culture, knowledge, and breadth of his insight. He rarely writes, but when he does, he creates a new idea that he supports with many references, until it becomes a model to be emulated in political or constitutional thought. This is Nawaf Salam, who introduces the book by adopting one of the phrases of the Italian Marxist philosopher and linguist Antonio Gramsci, which says: “The crisis lies precisely in the fact that the old is dying while the new cannot yet be born. In this period of confusion between darkness and light, all kinds of diseases appear.” Is there anything more expressive than these phrases about the reality of the collapse of the Lebanese system (or the lack of system in the first place) and the search for another system whose features have not yet become clear? Someone says. In the introduction, Nawaf Salam shows his complete bias towards the October 2019 uprising (which originally reinforced the political community’s caution towards him) in the context of his search for how to “transcend” the sectarian system. He talks about reviving “hope that the current sectarian system can be transcended, especially through what the youth have expressed in terms of solidarity and transcendence over sectarian, regional and factional affiliations throughout the days of the uprising.” He then quickly explains his idea so that it is not misunderstood by the kings of the sects who fear for their crumbling thrones, saying: “What is meant is not a state that is established in the face of the sects on the one hand, nor a state based on the tolerance of the sects towards it on the other hand, but rather a state capable of containing the sects within it and transcending them at the same time,” as a condition for strengthening the Lebanese people’s feeling that they are equal and free citizens. Happy New Year, all Lebanese. ???? • Joseph Aoun and Nawaf Salam Shattered the Shiite duo in Lebanon • . Bassil, crumbled with the election of Joseph Aoun. Thus, Hezbollah's alliances with Amal's Shiites and Michel Aoun's Maronites disintegrated, liberating the Christians, Shiites, Druze, and Sunnis from its grip, with the collapse resonating across the region, including Iran. Joseph Aoun and Nawaf Salam represent the enactment of Chapter Seven, supported internationally by resolutions 1701, 1559, and 1680. Despite his distinguished career, Salam remains committed to intellectual growth, producing groundbreaking, meticulously researched works in political and constitutional thought. In his book, Salam quotes Antonio Gramsci: “The crisis consists precisely in the fact that the old is dying and the new cannot be born; In this interregnum, a great variety of morbid symptoms appear.” This aptly reflects Lebanon's collapsing system and the quest for a new, undefined order. Salam's introduction aligns him with the October 2019 uprising, a stance that unsettles the political establishment. He advocates transcending Lebanon's sectarian system, inspired by the unity young people displayed during the uprising, surpassing sectarian, regional, and factional divides. To preempt misinterpretation by entrenched sectarian leaders, Salam clarifies: “The aim is not to establish a state in opposition to the sects, nor a state reliant