Fundamentalist Metamorphosis: Hezbollah's Evolution from Ideological Ideals to Pragmatic Practices
Al-Aloosy, Massaab.
2018
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Abstract: What is the effect of political change on an insurgency's ideology? What causes an insurgency to perceive who the enemy is? What happens to the ideology when a more imminent, more terrifying threat arises? In addition, is it possible for an insurgency to change the perception of who the enemy is or include yet another one? This research advances the argument that an insurgency would shift ... read morethe perception of who the enemy is depending on the perceived threat. The ideology will consequently change as well to legitimize the use of violence in order to preserve the group's survival. The specific case study is the change in Hezbollah's ideology because of its involvement in the Syrian civil war. Israel was the main enemy from the year Hezbollah was formally created in 1985 and continued to be so after the Israeli withdrawal from Southern Lebanon in 2000. The main aim of Hezbollah now, however, is to help the Syrian regime stay in power because the alternative constitutes an existential threat. Syria has been one of the most important players - at times the sole player - in Lebanon. Consequently, whoever controls Syria would have massive influence in Lebanon so if the Assad regime is toppled the alternative will not be favorable to Hezbollah's interest. Hezbollah's leadership believed their interest dictates military intervention, and consequently ideology took a legitimizing role through purporting several reasons for intervention in Syria. Throughout my research I employed a within case study through looking at four time periods of Hezbollah's history, and obtained data through interviews, a focus group, and secondary sources and documentation. The results of the research address a gap in the literature through explaining a different dynamic between a patron-state and an insurgency. The norm has been a varied support by patron-states to insurgencies, but in this instance, the roles are reversed. Moreover, the result explains the changing role of insurgency's ideology. While most scholars believe ideology has a fixed role, this research proves ideologies evolve and change. These new phenomena are worthy of academic analysis and may help construct policy prescriptions that could be applied in the Middle East and other parts of the world. Furthermore, there has been an exponential rise in the number of insurgences in several countries that are based on sectarian identities. The finding of the research presents a different understanding as to the significance of ideology for insurgencies.
Thesis (Ph.D.)--Tufts University, 2018.
Submitted to the Dept. of Diplomacy, History, and Politics.
Advisor: Richard Shultz.
Committee: Robert Pfaltzgraff, and Ibrahim Fraihat.
Keywords: Middle Eastern studies, International relations, and Islamic studies.read less - ID:
- kp78gt58k
- Component ID:
- tufts:26032
- To Cite:
- TARC Citation Guide EndNote
