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  • Chapter 13 - Colonial Legacies in Lebanese Financial Infrastructures and the Impact on Financial Crisis

  • from Part II - Histories of Financial Infrastructures
  • Edited by Carola Westermeier, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies, Malcolm Campbell-Verduyn, University of Groningen, Barbara Brandl, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt
  • Book:
    The Cambridge Global Handbook of Financial Infrastructure
    Published online:
    21 May 2025
    Print publication:
    05 June 2025, pp 153-164
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  • Summary

    In 2020, Lebanon faced one of the worst financial crises since the 1800s, as reported in major news outlets. Severe shortages in the central bank’s US dollar reserves triggered a full financial collapse, compounding crises in sectors like electricity, water, and fuel. This chapter explores the roots of Lebanon’s financial crisis by analyzing its deep dependency on the US dollar. It argues that this reliance traces back to colonial mercantilist influences embedded within Lebanon’s central bank. The chapter highlights recurring patterns in the bank’s historical development, shaped by colonial rationalities. First, it conceptualizes the establishment of Lebanon’s central bank under French colonial rule as a means to monopolize their currency, favor French financial markets, and control the region through debt relations. Second, it shows how these colonial rationalities persisted even after decolonization, becoming entrenched in the bank’s operations. The chapter concludes that these colonial influences have ingrained foreign currency dependency, continuing to shape Lebanon’s contemporary financial landscape.