Reviving the Cedar Dream

For her capstone project, Gheed El Bizri wrote a research paper titled “Reviving the Cedar Dream: Amidst Failed-State Realities in Lebanon.” This paper examines how economies play a role in shaping the significance of money and the subsequent impact on human rights violations. It traces how sectarian power-sharing and currency collapse have hollowed out governance and livelihoods, while the unanswered 2020 Beirut port explosion epitomizes a wider culture of impunity. In its closing reflections, El Bizri asks what it means to be Lebanese—“caught between vengeance and forgiveness,” united by culture yet divided by politics. The paper concludes with anti-corruption, banking, and accountability reforms aimed at rebuilding Lebanon around a “human-rights economy” that puts people and the planet at the center of recovery—reviving the Cedar Dream.