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 Lebanon seems a country in the grip of permanent crisis. In recent years it has suffered blow after blow, from Rafiq Hariri?s assassination in 2005, to the 2006 July War, to the current Syrian conflict, which has brought a million refugees streaming into the country.

This is an account not just of Lebanon?s high politics, with its endless rows, walk-outs, machinations and foreign alliances, but also of the politics of everyday life: all the stresses and strains the country?s inhabitants face, from electricity black-outs and uncollected rubbish to stagnating wages and property bubbles. Andrew Arsan moves between parliament and the public squares where protesters gather, between luxury high-rises and refugee camps, and between expensive nightclubs and seafront promenades, providing a comprehensive view of Lebanon in the twenty-first century.

Where others have treated Lebanon?s woes as exceptional, a by-product of its sectarianism and particular vulnerability to regional crises, Arsan argues that there is nothing particular about Lebanon?s predicament. Rather, it is a country of the age?one of neoliberal economics, populist fervour, forced displacement, rising xenophobia, and public disillusion. Lebanon, in short, offers us a lens through which to look on our times.

?Combining thorough historiography with half-detached ethnographic observation, this brilliant book is the account of a modern Virgil, guiding the reader through Lebanon?s Hell and Purgatory while pointing at the country?s manifold sinful indulgence.? ? Gilbert Achcar, Professor of Development Studies and International Relations, SOAS

?A comprehensive political and social history of post-2005 Lebanon. Arsan provides context, nuance, history and ethnography, all of which are key to understanding this dizzying period. This book is a must-read ? a gift to scholars and activists alike.? ? Maya Mikdashi, Assistant Professor of Women?s and Gender Studies, Rutgers University

?This lively and well-written book provides an excellent narrative of Lebanon?s history and an engaging and thoughtful account of the social and political problems that beleaguer it even today.? ? Laleh Khalili, Professor of Middle East Politics, SOAS

?A beautifully written and empathetic account of politics, security and the realm of the ordinary in Lebanon?s recent tumultuous years. This is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand this small, crisis-ridden nation.? ? Sarah El-Richani, Assistant Professor of Mass Communications, The American University in Cairo and author of The Lebanese Media

Andrew Arsan is University Lecturer in Modern Middle Eastern History at the University of Cambridge and a fellow of St John?s College, Cambridge. His first book, Interlopers of Empire: The Lebanese Diaspora in Colonial French West Africa was joint winner of the 2015 Royal Historical Society Gladstone Prize.