Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull suggested it as he discussed further action against the self-proclaimed Islamic State, IS, with the leaders of Russia and the United States.
But there is a warning that such a political model in Syria could be catastrophic.
Before the APEC leaders' summit in Manila, Malcolm Turnbull reiterated the need for what he calls a pragmatic resolution to the Syrian situation -- based, he says, on compromise.
IS has exploited the political, religious and ethnic divides to take control of vast territories across Syria and neighbouring Iraq.
The Prime Minister suggests diversifying political representation in Syria, like in Lebanon, would undermine support for IS, also known as ISIL or Daesh.
"Daesh's fundamental constituency, its foundation in that part of the world, sits on the grievances of Sunnis, who were oppressed by (President Bashar al) Assad in Syria and felt left out and oppressed by the government in Iraq, Iraq being a majority-Shia country. So, the inclusion of the Sunnis -- this is the people and their leaders, their often tribal leaders -- in a settlement is a key part, because that takes away the foundation, the constituency, that Daesh has been preying on."
But an associate professor of American Studies at Tehran University, Mohammad Marandi, has told Russia Today the challenge is far more complex for nations with vested interest.
"The Saudis, the Turkish government, they've been helping al-Qaeda and al-Qaeda affiliates, the ISIL group, over the past few years. This is something that the US vice president had admitted last October. And also General (Michael) Flynn, the former head of the Defence Intelligence Agency, the most important military intelligence-gathering organisation in the US, also admitted that the United States helped the rise of extremism from 2012. So, the Americans, the Europeans, the dictatorships in the Persian Gulf, as well as Turkey, they've all been deeply involved in the rise of these organisations, and they're implicated."
Malcolm Turnbull says he and other world leaders share the view that future political participation in Syria should include all ethnic and religious groups, but not IS.
Australia is the second-largest military contributor to the US-led coalition against IS, and he says each participating country must assess how it can contribute.
Mr Turnbull maintains introducing international ground forces into Syria would be counterproductive.
And after meeting with Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama, he has suggested Lebanon's political system as a possible model for post-conflict Syria.
It is based on the principle of confessionalism, meaning the executive government, parliament, civil service and institutions must reflect the religious make-up of Lebanese society.
Eighteen religious denominations are represented in Lebanon's parliament, six Muslim and 12 Christian.
The country's president is elected from among Christian Maronite candidates, the parliamentary speaker a Shi'ite Muslim and the prime minister a Sunni Muslim.
Although not enshrined in the constitution, the agreement has been in place since Lebanon gained independence from France in 1943.
But Hachem el-Haddad, a Lebanese broadcaster with SBS Radio's Arabic language program, says the political system intended to unify a divided nation has fragmented it further.
He says the resulting political instability leaves Lebanon vulnerable to the influences of regional religious allegiances and has stalled decision-making to the highest levels.
"Each sect has veto power, so, in the last four months, for example, the government was unable to collect the rubbish from the streets. And it couldn't even meet, let alone to solve the problem, because of the divisions between the different sects and factions. So, devising such a model, or prescribing it to Syria, for example, would be catastrophic. And we saw an example of that in Iraq after the American invasion in 2003. The Americans devised a similar system, and the end result is what you see now: a government that is ineffective and corrupt."
A fellow Lebanese broadcaster on the program, Marie Myssy, disagrees.
"Syria is similar to Lebanon, because there are so many religions there. For example, in Egypt, they are all Sunni, so they have no problem. They're having problems now in Yemen, because there are Shia. In Bahrain, they're having problems, because there is a big Shia population and they're not included in the government. What the opposition wanted in Syria, they wanted to be included. In Syria, the majority of people are Sunni. Who is governing? Assad and his cousins. They are all Alawi."
Hachem el-Haddad says he believes power sharing has weakened Lebanon as a nation, though, leading to crises and even conflicts.
He says it has also prevented a common national identity and still sidelined some groups of people from participation.
"The confessional structures left those living outside the sectarian framework severely lacking in civil liberties and other liberties, as if they are nonexistent. You have to belong to a sect to be recognised by the government, by the state. And over the years, the sects became more powerful than the state itself. Now, for example, each sect has its own education system, its own hospitals, its own schools, its own religious establishment -- even during the civil war, its own army."
Sri Lanka, Belgium, Northern Ireland and Bosnia-and-Herzegovina are all countries with forms of power-sharing governance.
Share
