Marwan Bishara hosts a discussion on the future of Lebanon

Until now.

Leaders from all the parties gathered in Doha and reached a momentous agreement, but will it hold and is it a model for the region?

Normality has only ever been fleeting and hard-won in Lebanon.

Carved up by the French and British in 1943, it was initially held together by a fragile division of power among Muslim and Christians sects, with Christians holding the lion's share.

Israeli-Arab wars sent many thousands of Palestinian refugees flooding into the already fractured nation.

In 1975, the Lebanese dream of "confessional democracy", with each sect represented in parliament, turned into a nightmare - the outbreak of civil war and 15 years of bloody sectarian violence orchestrated by warlords and manipulated by outside powers bent on settling their scores in the country.

To make matters worse, from 1982 the Lebanese suffered an 18-year Israeli occupation that led to horrific massacres, held back by a heavy-handed Syrian military presence.

With the turn of the 90s, reconciliation ended the civil war, and power was re-distributed to Muslims.

Saudi-based billionaire expat Rafiq al-Hariri was chosen – with Syrian blessing - to lead the country's reconstruction.

But with his assassination in 2005 and the withdrawal of Syrian forces, Lebanon was left with a power vacuum. When Israel invaded again in 2006, Hezbollah came to the fore as the fighting force that drove them out, according to opinion polls making Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah the most popular Arab politician almost overnight.

But last month a government and Hezbollah power struggle revived the spectre of civil war. Only with the Qatar-sponsored Doha Talks did the Arab League manage to secure a truce from the antagonistic Lebanese leaders, and a commitment to change.

As hundreds of Lebanese took to the streets in celebration and real fireworks replaced the familiar political fireworks, it seemed that a normality of sorts was finally given a chance to take root.

Could Lebanon's audacity to hope be well-founded?

The tangible desire to seize the moment and believe in the chance of peace was a thing to behold. And with it, the much-needed chance of economic recovery.

Cross-party support for President Michel Suleiman promises to be something more than a pipe dream. But the balance of power amongst the new ministerial appointments must be spot-on if the factions are to sign up to power-sharing at all.

One outcome of the Doha Talks was to show the international powers-that-be that the Arab world can forge its own solutions, snatching the opportunity for proxy wars and manipulation right out of their hands. The Qataris saw to that.

If this holds true long-term, it is a seismic shift; and one that the new White House resident will have to come to terms with, like it or not. True, getting the Arab house in order is barely off the starting block, but some analysts believe that if it continues, true self-determination will be a real possibility for the first time in the post-colonial Arab world.

And the Lebanese were the first to demonstrate this will to be masters of their own destiny when they sent the Syrians packing.

So could it be that this time Lebanon's audacity to hope is well-founded?

This depends crucially on the intentions of the Lebanese politicians. If they are given charge of the reigns but do not know where they are going, nothing will change. And if they planned to bolt with the horse all along, then Lebanon is set for another age of conflict. It is up to them to show they have the interests of Lebanese sovereignty at heart now.

Watch part one of Lebanon: The Audacity of Hope

Watch part two of Lebanon: The Audacity of Hope

Watch part three of Lebanon: The Audacity of Hope

Watch part four of Lebanon: The Audacity of Hope