Hezbollah - by Adham Saouli (Paperback)

About the Book

This book argues that war-making with Israel has driven Hezbollah's socialisation in Lebanon and the region, transforming the Islamist movement from a loose organization into one of the world's most powerful and sophisticated armed political movements.

Book Synopsis

What drives Hezbollah's political behaviour? For three decades we believed that the impetus of establishing an Islamic state in Lebanon was its main goal. This book disagrees. Drawn from over fifteen years of research, it traces Hezbollah's political trajectory, or socialisation process, from its birth in 1982 to 2017. It identifies the religio-political identity and doctrine that inspire Hezbollah and the politico-strategic goals that motivate it. It argues that war-making with Israel has driven Hezbollah's socialisation in Lebanon and the region, transforming the Islamist movement from a loose organization into one of the world's most powerful and sophisticated armed political movements.

From the Back Cover

Explains Hezbollah's ceaseless drive for survival and the unintended, tragic consequences it has generated What drives Hezbollah's political behaviour? For three decades we believed that the impetus of establishing an Islamic state in Lebanon was its main goal. This book disagrees. Drawn from over fifteen years of research, it traces Hezbollah's political trajectory, or socialisation process, from its birth in 1982 to 2017. It identifies the religio-political identity and doctrine that inspire Hezbollah and the politico-strategic goals that motivate it. It argues that war-making with Israel has driven Hezbollah's socialisation in Lebanon and the region, transforming the Islamist movement from a loose organization into one of the world's most powerful and sophisticated armed political movements. Key Features Uses a theoretical framework rooted in the intellectual tradition of Historical Sociology to offer a new conceptualisation of Hezbollah as an armed political movement Draws from International Relations and Sociological theories to advance an explanation of the causes and consequences of Hezbollah's socialisation process Uses field interviews in Lebanon, speeches and religio-political writings of Hezbollah officials, testaments of its fighters, and party communiqués Shows how Hezbollah's motivation to make war with Israel has generated unintended consequences including security paradoxes, political conformity, and ethical dilemmas. Adham Saouli is Senior Lecturer in International Relations, University of St. Andrews. He is the author of The Arab State: Dilemmas of Late Formation (2012).

Review Quotes

In his exquisite study, Hezbollah: Socialization and its Tragic Ironies, Adham Saouli places Hezbollah somewhere between domestic Lebanese politics and its armed struggles against Israel. On one side the narrative battles of a militant subnational consciousness and on the other an asymmetrical warfare with a massive military machinery: Hezbollah here in fact emerges as a postnational twist to Schmittean concept of the political, crafting militant virtues out of existential threats to its very viability. Impeccably researched, thoroughly documented, judiciously balanced, and beautifully written, Adham Saouli's book sets a new measure for a new generation of scholarship in this field.'--Hamid Dabashi, Columbia University

This book provides a most interesting account of the Hezbollah phenomenon by examining the dynamics of socialization of the movement. It highlights in an extremely usefully way the interaction between the nature of conflict in Lebanon and in the region, and the formation of an adaptative Hezbollah identity and practice.'--Frédéric Volpi, University of Edinburgh

This is an important and interesting book that should be read by anyone wanting to understand the Hizballah phenomenon.--Eyal Zisser "Bustan: The Middle East Book Review"

This theoretically innovative and empirically rich treatment of Hezbollah's socialisation disrupts many myths about the organization. In situating its trajectory within both Hobbesian and Lockean anarchical spheres, Saouli demonstrates the flexibility and responsiveness of the group to its immediate domestic and regional surroundings.'--Samer Abboud, Associate Professor Global Interdisciplinary Studies, Villanova University

About the Author

Adham Saouli is Professor of International Relations at the University of St Andrews and Professor of Politics and International Relations at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies. Saouli is the author of the The Arab State: Dilemmas of Late Formation (Routledge, 2012), Hezbollah: Socialisation and its Tragic Ironies (Edinburgh University Press, 2019), editor of Unfulfilled Aspirations: Middle Power Politics in the Middle East (Oxford University Press, 2020), and co-editor of The War for Syria (Routledge, 2020). Saouli is now examining the historical origins of and contemporary political impact of the Arabo-Islamic concept of Fitna (sedition, civil war).