The Slow Collapse of Lebanon as a State
June 10, 2026 · Frisian News
Lebanon's currency has lost 92 percent of its value since 2019. Banks remain sealed while the state's authority erodes and militia groups expand their control.
The Lebanese pound has lost 92 percent of its value against the dollar since 2019. In Beirut's streets, a kilogram of tomatoes costs the equivalent of two dollars. Banks that once served as the backbone of the economy now lock people out of their own money.
Lebanon's ruling elites caused this collapse. For decades they treated the state as private property, moving stolen wealth overseas while piling on debt. They kept the pound pegged to the dollar while central bank reserves drained away. When the currency finally broke, ordinary Lebanese paid the cost. Banks froze, money vanished, and the economy stopped.
Hezbollah has filled the gap left by the state's retreat. The Iranian-backed militia now runs schools, hospitals, bakeries, and food distribution in areas under its control. Hezbollah collects taxes. Hezbollah enforces order. A shadow government has taken root, and the formal state grows weaker every month.
Young people in Lebanon are leaving in large numbers. Doctors, engineers, and skilled workers board flights to the Gulf, Europe, and North America every week. Those who stay navigate a collapsing currency and shrinking opportunities. A generation raised on promises of a modern Middle Eastern nation watches those promises die.
Lebanon has all the trappings of a state: a flag, a government, a parliament. None of it matters when your currency is worthless, militias control neighborhoods, and the young have fled. The state exists in name only. Lebanon shows what happens when institutions rot so completely that people stop believing in them.
Published June 10, 2026 · Frisian News