Building Bridges: Michel Chiha and the Construction of Modern Lebanon

For almost three decades, the banker, journalist—and occasional poet—Michel Chiha (1891-1951) constructed, through pages of his newspaper, Le Jour, a possibilist approach to Lebanese nationhood that was directly influential in configuration National Pact and, ultimately, independence. However, and despite prominent role thought played construction ‘Lebanese formula’, work has been sorely overseen misunderstood by scholarship. Analyzing Chiha’s editorial production, this paper will underline how author’s cosmopolitan philosophy came define self-perceptions identity, defining constitutional practices until present.