The repercussions of the Arab Spring have hit the Lebanese economy at a moment when it was already struggling, due to the absence of necessary reforms and elements of an active state, along with the effects of the Syrian crisis. The international economy was also encumbered due to the effects of the 2008 financial crisis. These repercussions exacerbated the risks and added political challenges to the existing economic and financial hardships. Now the Syrian crisis is adding more vagueness to the gloomy scene by taking the oil markets to records that have not been witnessed for some time, which will undoubtedly affect economic growth if the status quo stays the same and the dust does not settle. Nothing can harm the economy more than uncertain periods, leading it toward inflation and recession.
Whether or not it is carried out, the potential strike on Syria will deeply impact the Arab and international economies. Certainly, the effects vary between both cases. The military option is still possible, yet not in the near future after the matter was referred to the United Nations. The latter is striving to issue a resolution that brings rival parties to an agreement, goes beyond vetoes and puts Syria’s chemical weapons under international control. Everything that was said and shown on television channels about the possibility of a military operation, in addition to the expectations and counter-expectations, has increased risks in the Middle East, the region that enjoys the world’s largest strategic oil reserves. Herein lies the essence of the issue.
