The concept of authority

A power system is a system of prevailing relationships between individuals or groups of humans, including the predominance of some over others. The system grants to the rulers a number of privileges, the most important of which are the specific security and financial tools that are tolerated by the majority. Rulers are the only party authorized to use coercive force against those who are not following certain behavioral patterns determined by the relationship system. The authority has to act to preserve its legitimacy, that is, the recognition of a large group of people of its usefulness and efficiency.

Some examples of what has been called the system of relationships:

• Family relationships, mostly patriarchal, in which men have power over women.
• Employment relationships in which employers have power over employees.
• Relationship between the individual and the state which in Lebanon is bypassed by local and confessional authorities. This system of relationships where civil rights are exchanged for allegiance is what is called clientelist.

The Lebanese civil war has reshaped the system of relationships. Massive human migration of Lebanese citizens to countries having a higher income created the rentier economy. This facilitated a system that relies on the power of the militias and sectarian leaders fueled by their alliance with opaque businesses billionaires.