Hezbollah - A Short History - Updated and Expanded , Third Edition: A Short History (Princeton Studies in Muslim Politics) - Softcover

Buch 34 von 42: Princeton Studies in Muslim Politics

Norton, Augustus Richard

 
9780691180885: Hezbollah - A Short History - Updated and Expanded , Third Edition: A Short History (Princeton Studies in Muslim Politics)
Softcover
ISBN 10: 0691180881 ISBN 13: 9780691180885
Verlag: Princeton University Press, 2018

Inhaltsangabe

With Hezbollah's entry into the Lebanese government in 2009 and forceful intervention in the Syrian civil war, the potent Shi'i political and military organization continues to play an enormous role in the Middle East. A hybrid of militia, political party, and social services and public works provider, the group is the most powerful player in Lebanon. Policymakers in the United States and Israel usually denounce Hezbollah as a dangerous terrorist organization and refuse to engage with it, yet even its adversaries need to contend with its durability and resilient popular support. Augustus Richard Norton's incisive account stands as the most lucid, informed, and balanced analysis of Hezbollah yet written--and this fully revised and updated edition features a new prologue and conclusion, as well as two new chapters largely devoted to the group's recent activities, including its involvement in Syria. Hezbollah is a work of perennial importance and remains essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the Middle East.

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Augustus Richard Norton is professor of international relations and anthropology at Boston University and a fellow of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies. A former U.S. Army officer and West Point professor, he has conducted research in Lebanon for more than three decades.

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"Hezbollah is a timely and landmark work. Richard Norton draws on his extensive expertise to offer a comprehensive history that will be of interest to anyone who seeks a better understanding of Hezbollah, Lebanon, or current developments in the Middle East."--Lee Hamilton, Vice Chair of the 9/11 Commission and Co-Chair of the Iraq Study Group

"One of the most remarkable developments in the Middle East in recent years is Hezbollah's meteoric rise to power. No one can better explain the broad implications of this phenomenon than Richard Norton. Drawing on his vast knowledge of Lebanon, Norton has written a timely and readable primer that lucidly explains the intricacies of Hezbollah's ideology and history and demystifies its political strategy."--Vali Nasr, author of The Shia Revival: How Conflicts within Islam Will Shape the Future

"Norton is uniquely positioned to provide an analysis of Hezbollah, one that is historical, nuanced, and informed by more than twenty-five years of experience as a researcher and policy advisor on Lebanon. He is one of the foremost American experts on Hezbollah and Shi'i politics in Lebanon. In addition, Norton's writing is always clear and accessible. This concise and accurate primer will be invaluable to general readers, reporters, and scholars."--Lara Deeb, author of An Enchanted Modern: Gender and Public Piety in Shi'i Lebanon

"I recommend this book with greatest enthusiasm. Norton is one of the premier--if not the premier--American authorities on Shi'i politics in Lebanon. Add to this the fact that he is a talented writer who can communicate complex ideas in a fluent, engaging, and accessible fashion. Telling quotes and anecdotes enliven the book and ground it. Norton is the rare academic whose expertise doesn't prevent him from communicating well with a general reader."--Eva Bellin, Hunter College, City University of New York

"This short, authoritative book, based on first-hand experience, efficiently analyses [Hezbollah's] status."--Roger MacGinty,International Affairs

"This excellent short history of Hezbollah . . . demonstrates that dismissing it as a ‘terrorist organization' is both glib and dishonest. . . . . Everyone who wants to understand the complexities of the Middle East, and particularly those of Lebanon and Israel, and wants to reach the truth beyond the political rhetoric, should read this book."--Jørgen Jensehaugen,Journal of Peace Research

"The many complex and often changing dimensions of Hezbollah are presented in the book in a clear, concise manner." --Rami G. Khouri, Daily Star

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Hezbollah

A Short History

By Augustus Richard Norton

PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS

Copyright © 2018 Princeton University Press
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-691-18088-5

Contents

Prologue to the Third Edition, xi, 
Prologue, xxi, 
Chapter 1 Origins and Prehistory of Hezbollah, 1, 
The Rise of Shi'i Politics from the Mid-twentieth Century to the Lebanese Civil War, 5, 
The Role of Musa al-Sadr, 8, 
The Resurgence of Amal, 12, 
Chapter 2 The Founding of Hezbollah, 17, 
The Iraq Connection, 19, 
The 1982 Israeli Invasion, 21, 
Hezbollah Emerges, 23, 
The Hezbollah Worldview, 24, 
Implementing the Design, 30, 
Chapter 3 Being a Shi'i Muslim in the Twenty-first Century, 36, 
Ritual and Identity, 39, 
The Intersection of Ritual and Politics, 47, 
Chapter 4 Resistance, Terrorism, and Violence in Lebanon, 58, 
Hezbollah and Terrorism, 63, 
Occupation in Southern Lebanon, 67, 
The "Rules of the Game", 72, 
The 2000 Israeli Withdrawal, 77, 
Chapter 5 Playing Politics, 83, 
Hezbollah's Decision to Participate, 86, 
Municipal Elections, 90, 
The Revolt of the Hungry, 93, 
The Rich Texture of Shi'i Institutions, 94, 
Chapter 6 From Celebration to War, 100, 
The Changing Social Tapestry in Post–Civil War Lebanon, 106, 
Lebanon's Love-Hate Relationship with Rafiq al-Hariri, and His Assassination, 110, 
Setting the Stage for War, 118, 
The Start of Hostilities, July 2006, 121, 
Prosecuting the War, 123, 
Postwar Reactions, 129, 
Hezbollah in a Fractured Postwar Lebanon, 134, 
Chapter 7 Acclaim Gives Way to Enmity, 141, 
2009 Parliamentary Elections, 151, 
A Change of Tone and a Tweaking of Ideology, 154, 
Worsening Relations with Egypt, 156, 
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon–and Lebanese-Syrian Relations, 157, 
Widening Rifts within Lebanon, 167, 
International Ostracism of Hezbollah, 172, 
Sunni-Shi'i Tensions, 175, 
Chapter 8 Hezbollah's Syrian Entanglement, 178, 
Conclusion, 197, 
U.S.-Iran Conflict?, 197, 
A Bizarre Resignation, 199, 
The Astana Process and the Overlapping Interests of Iran and Turkey, 202, 
The Dismantling of the ISIS Caliphate, 204, 
Lebanon's Problematic Economic Picture, 204, 
Another Israel-Hezbollah War?, 209, 
Navigating Hostile Seas, 210, 
Glossary, 213, 
Additional Reading, 215, 
Sources Cited, 221, 
Index, 227, 
Acknowledgments, 249,


CHAPTER 1

Origins and Prehistory of Hezbollah


The modern state of Lebanon won its independence from France in 1943. The defining compromise of Lebanese politics was the mithaq al-watani or national pact, an unwritten understanding between the dominant political communities of the day — the Sunni Muslims and the Maronite Christians — that would provide the terms of reference for Lebanon's independence. In the 1920s the French, exploiting their League of Nations mandates in Lebanon and Syria, carved out generous chunks of Syria to create a viable "Greater Lebanon," thereby thwarting the Arab nationalist dream of an independent state in Damascus. For the Sunnis, the acceptance of an independent state ended the hope of reuniting Lebanon with Syria. Although the Sunnis, many of them merchants, dominated the new republic's coastal cities, their history was in the Syrian capital of Damascus. The Maronites, long the favored ally of French power and influence in the region, now had to concede that Lebanon was not an appendage of Europe but instead an Arab state. Neither Sunnis nor Christians spoke with a single voice, however, and dissent flourished.

The political system that emerged from the national pact was formalized into a system of sectarian communities, or confessions. Each of the country's recognized sects was accorded political privilege — including senior appointments in the bureaucracy, membership in parliament, and positions in high political office — roughly proportionate to the community's size. This process was always rather inexact except for the highest political positions, which were awarded to the Maronites, Sunnis, and Shi'a. Thus, the Maronites, considered the plurality, were accorded the presidency, which carried preeminent prerogatives and powers, and the second largest community, the Sunnis, won the premiership, decidedly second fiddle to the presidency. The Shi'i community, third largest, was awarded the speakership of the parliament, a position with far weaker constitutional powers than either the presidency or the premiership. The provenance of this allocation of power was a 1932 census of dubious reliability and, in fact, the last official census ever conducted in Lebanon. The data were sound estimates at best. The imbalance of power between the "three presidents" was rectified significantly by political reforms in 1989 in an agreement that provided the framework for ending the civil war of 1975–1990, which claimed about 150,000 lives.

The Shi'i community, in any case, could yield little influence over the political system at the time, as it was impoverished and underdeveloped (Norton 1987, 16–23). Asmall community of Shi'a lived in and around Beirut, but the overwhelming mass lived in southern Lebanon and in the northern Beqaa valley. Of course, the historical context for the impoverishment of all the Arab Shi'i communities (found, notably, in Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia) derives from the fact that the dominant Arab Sunnis often despised the Shi'a for deviating from the path of Sunni Islam. Over the course of the Ottoman Empire, which ruled Lebanon and Syria more or less effectively for more than four hundred years, the Shi'a were suspected of being a stalking horse for Persia, notwithstanding the venerable origins of Arab Shi'ism, which, in fact, long predates the introduction of Shi'ism in Persia in the sixteenth century. Indeed, the central contention between Shi'i and Sunni Muslims to this day goes back to the validity of the claim made by the partisans of 'Ali, the husband of the Prophet Muhammad's daughter, Fatimah, that he should succeed Muhammad upon the prophet's death.

A conjuncture of social facts, regional conflicts, and domestic policies shaped the politicization of the Lebanese Shi'a in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. The rate of this community's natural increase outpaced all others in Lebanon, as the average Shi'i family had nine members in the early 1970s, whereas the average Christian household had only six. Although fertility among Sunni women was also higher than among the Christians, Shi'i women bore an average of one more child than their fellow Muslims (Chamie 1981, 44). Families of a dozen or more children are not uncommon among the Shi'a, and as mobility improved in the first decades of Lebanese independence, tens of thousands migrated from the hinterlands to Beirut and abroad.

The hardscrabble Shi'i farmers cultivated the hills and valleys of the South and the Beqaa plateau, but most could not subsist on what they earned selling tobacco to the state monopoly or growing vegetables and fruits. Even those who owned land rather than working as sharecroppers often struggled to eke out a living from farming. The state was of little help, providing piddling sums for rural development, a pattern that persists. In the northern Beqaa and the Hirmil region, where the influence of the state was especially weak, poppies and hashish became valuable cash crops. In many Shi'i villages, several...

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Verlag
Princeton University Press
Erscheinungsdatum
2018
Sprache
Englisch
ISBN 10 
0691180881
ISBN 13 
9780691180885
Einband
Taschenbuch
Auflage
3
Anzahl der Seiten
272
Kontakt zum Hersteller
Nicht verfügbar
Verantwortliche Person
Nicht verfügbar

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