Political adaptation of Hezbollah to the Lebanese political system

Abstract

This thesis is composed of eight chapters. Chapter one is an introduction. Chapter two is an overview of the historical background of Hezbolla; second, the Iranian and Syrian factor; third, the party's ideology and structure; and fourth, the party's resistance, hostage taking, and suicide bombings. Chapter three concentrates on the religious ideology and strategy of Hezbollah, with an overview of the Shiites' beliefs. The following three chapters, four, five, six, analyze the efforts Hezbollah put into its political transformation. For that purpose, three points are in focus: the party's participation in elections, its active social engagement in its Shiite community, and its diminished military action, until July 2006. Chapter four observes Hezbollah's political behavior and tactics in the parliamentary elections of 1992, 1996, and 2000. Chapter five covers the party's social welfare system. The activities and achivements of some of its prominent social organs such as Jihad al-Bina', the Islamic health Committee, and the Maryr's Foundation are outlined. Chapter six examines the behavior of Hezbollah after the tragic events of September 11 and Western view of Hezbollah, and vice versa. Chapter seven explores the 2006 July War, and in that chapter the different actions and reactions of the two parties involved in the war is mentioned. Moreover, in chapter seven, the causes of the war and its effects on Lebanon are also analyzed. Chapter eight is the conclusion. The Lebanese political party Hezbollah was established in 1982 by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as part of the Iranian Leader Ayatollah Khomeini's effort to export the Islamic Revolution to the region. Providing the party with substantial military and financial backing, Iran no doubt played the decisive role in the creation of Hezbollah. Moreover, the political mobilization of the Lebanese Shiite community contributed significantly to the emergence of the party...