Navigating the COVID-19 Pandemic in Consociational Systems: The Cases of Lebanon and Iraq

Pizzorno’s distinction between ‘manifest’ and ‘hidden’ politics helps to explain the resilience of the consociational systems of Lebanon and Iraq in times of crises. Through the lens of ‘manifest’ politics, the Lebanese and Iraqi political systems are permanently on the brink of collapse. By contrast, through the lens of ‘hidden’ politics, the Lebanese and Iraqi political systems manifest their organised resilience. This comparative analysis of the responses to the Covid-19 pandemic in Iraq and Lebanon contributes to the debate over how consociational power-sharing works in practice as a fine-grained system to maintain the status quo.