How the Beirut explosion was a government failure

And why Lebanon is on the verge of collapse. Subscribe to our channel! http://goo.gl/0bsAjO On August 4, 2020, a massive explosion rocked Beirut, the capital city of Lebanon. The blast occurred when sparks in a warehouse hit a stockpile of ammonium nitrate — a highly explosive material — that was stored in the city s port. It was one of the largest accidental explosions in history and it couldn t have occurred at a worse time for Lebanon. For the past several years, the country has been sliding into an economic depression and a political crisis. The root causes began during the country s 20-year civil war and extend to the organization of the government, in which control is divided among the country s many religious sects. After years of corruption and negligence, Lebanon s people are now stuck picking up the pieces. Sources and additional reading: New York Times Visual Investigations: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/05/world/middleeast/beirut-explosion-footage.html Carnegie Endowment: https://carnegieendowment.org/2016/05/16/unraveling-of-lebanon-s-taif-agreement-limits-of-sect-based-power-sharing-pub-63571 Ahmad Barclay: https://twitter.com/bothness/status/1186967940178071552 The Economist: https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2019/10/24/a-surge-of-public-anger-sends-lebanons-politicians-reeling Ziad Abu-Rish / Jadaliyya: https://www.jadaliyya.com/Details/33377 Triangle: https://www.thinktriangle.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Extend_Pretend_Lebanons_Financial_House_of_Cards_2019.pdf Financial Times: https://ftalphaville.ft.com/2019/12/18/1576679115000/Understanding-the-Lebanese-financial-crisis/ Mohamad Bazzi / Foreign Affairs: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/lebanon/2020-08-14/corrupt-political-class-broke-lebanon Dion Nissenbaum, Nazih Osseiran, Georgi Kantchev and Benoit Faucon / The Wall Street Journal: https://www.wsj.com/articles/behind-the-beirut-explosion-seven-years-of-official-neglect-11596842032 Vox.com is a news website that helps you cut through the noise and understand what s really driving the events in the headlines. Check out http://www.vox.com. Watch our full video catalog: http://goo.gl/IZONyE Follow Vox on Facebook: http://goo.gl/U2g06o Or Twitter: http://goo.gl/XFrZ5H