The conflict between Lebanon and Israel (1992-2006) : what are the origins, character and significance of Hezbollah?

Abstract

The focus of my thesis is on the rise of Hezbollah as a military and political group and its significance in Lebanon and the Middle East. Many scholars consider the emergence of Hezbollah as essentially a resistance to the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Critical interpretivist approach has been adopted in this study, making use of a detailed history of the Lebanese resistance. Hezbollah's political, social and ideological character, domestic alliances and the historical governmental neglect of the Shia, the bottom class since 1943 are often subordinated when studying the rise of the organisation. The emergence of young and educated leaders and the military and financial support from Syria and Iran were also significant for Hezbollah. The main topic of the thesis is that there are many historical, social, political, ideological, economic and military reasons behind the formation of the organisation. The purpose of this research is to carry out a broad analysis of the organisation from diverse perspectives to add a new dimension to previous studies conducted in this field. The author is taking a critical interpretivist approach, making use of a detailed history of the Lebanese resistance. The growing influence provided Hezbollah with an opportunity to fill the vacuum of power within the political system in Lebanon to pose as a state within a failing Lebanese state. This project also aims to show that Hezbollah managed to develop its character from purely Islamic to a hybrid of Lebanese national and Islamic identity. The intention includes examining three major wars against Israel that changed the nature of the Arab Israeli conflict. This study will also analyse the impact of Hezbollah's Alliance with the Christian group the Free Patriotic Movement on the politics of Lebanon.

Date of Award	2017
Original language	English