Violence between anti-government protestors and Lebanon’s riot police has erupted across the country this past week. The cause of protests is rooted in an issue being covered broadly in the news elsewhere: wildfires. The government of Lebanon implemented reforms to tax WhatsApp users in order to fund disaster relief for damages caused by wildfires. Protesters argue the whole issue could, and should, have been avoided by better disaster preparedness on the part of the government. These protests mirror ongoing protests in Chile that started with a small increase in public transportation fees. Ultimately, in both of these protests, these smaller incidents were just the tipping point for an already disaffected public. In Lebanon, people had already faced shortages of basic necessities like water and electricity. Additionally, economic issues plagued the country with their currency, the Lebanese pound, rapidly depreciating in value, and the national debt standing at $87 billion. For a country of Lebanon’s size, that is so high it places them with the fifth highest debt to GDP ratio in the world, according to the World Population Review.

While the protests started peacefully, they have quickly escalated, following the military parading the streets with advanced weaponry, including RPGs, as reported by Vox. The Washington Post reportsthat protestors in Beruit, Lebanon’s capital, attacked riot police with firecrackers, rocks, and uprooted plants. The riot police responded with what Human Rights Watch condemned as “excessive force.” This included tear gas, water cannons, and rubber bullets, leaving more than 400 people injured and treated by rescue services. That number alone is terrifying, and it doesn’t even account for those who were injured and went untreated. Make no mistake; Lebanon is a state on the brink of collapse. The country’s downward economic spiral coupled with political turmoil is enough to put it at risk of a violent revolution. Since the protests started, the (now ex) Prime Minister Saad Hariri resigned, and the new government, headed by Hassan Diab, a university professor, has failed to create a cabinet.

Protestors want an entirely new government filled with experts that aren’t related to past political parties. Diab has attempted to assuage the public’s concerns, and failed, even though he promised his cabinet would meet the public’s demands. The public has lost all trust in their traditional political parties, and party politics writ large. It doesn’t help that Diab is the Iran-backed terrorist group Hezbollah’s nominee. Hezbollah has publicly declared that Lebanon might fall into a “complete collapse” if a new government is not formed. Many see this is just propaganda to ensure a faster confirmation of Diab’s cabinet, but the threat of collapse is very real. If the public refuses to recognize the legitimacy of the new government, there will be anarchy, riots, and likely a revolution that involves mass violence.

The central issue is Hezbollah’s undue influence in Lebanon’s politics. The solution will be difficult, and the burden falls on quite a few actors. First, the United States must increase and reaffirm its military assistance and support for the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF). The LAF was constructed in a non-sectarian fashion, and has been widely successful in the past against Sunni jihadists, making it massively popular nationally and an important pillar for the legitimacy of the government. Increasing the power of the LAF will also decrease the perceived need for Hezbollah’s Shia militia. Weakened support for the militia translates into weakened support for Hezbollah writ large, as their utility to the public decreases.

Second, with this boost in credibility and clear signal pushing a shift away from Hezbollah’s influence, the Lebanese government should announce a fully technocratic cabinet, focused on experts without past political ties. The President of Lebanon, Michael Aeon, should take a lead in this effort, and Diab should play less of a role in the public campaigns for this cabinet, given his ties to Hezbollah. This will also serve to weaken Hezbollah’s influence as they lose any control of the cabinet they previously had. The establishment of a new cabinet is sufficient to meet the international conditions set by the UN for increased international aid. This new flow of international aid can be used to implement economic reforms, designed by the technocrats recently elected because of their expertise. The best and brightest in Lebanon are sure to generate the needed economic reforms for Lebanon’s economy to start growing, which will completely appease the public’s concerns.