Review Essay - Lebanon: The Challenge of Moving Governance Analysis Beyond the State

In many countries, governance — the provision of security, welfare and representation — is not a prerogative of the state alone. Besides the usual NGOs, firms and lobbies, "non-state-governance actors" have the means and ambition to provide constituencies in specific areas with security (through regulating the internal use of force and offering protection from external threats), welfare (through social and utility services) and political representation (through institutions for feedback and consultation). Such non-state actors have intricate and often ambiguous relations with state institutions, resulting in complex and contested governance dynamics.