Hezbollah: The Story of the Party of God From Revolution to Institutionalization

The Hezbollah movement is a product of the environment in which it operates and of the interactions as well as of the reciprocal relations between the players surrounding it. Hezbollah is a Lebanese Shiite movement with an affinity and a deep correlation with the Iranian system, yet it's foundation stemmed from the development of social and political procedures in the Lebanese system, in general, and among the Shia sect, in particular.As the movement expanded and became institutionalized, it turned more sensitive to the procedures and influences of the internal and the regional systems. On the regional and the international fields, it used a controlled policy which integrating between guerrilla warfare and terrorist attacks while taking into account "profit and loss" considerations. The 2008 model of Hezbollah is one of a pragmatic terrorist organization that is far more dangerous than that of the revolutionary Hezbollah of the eighties. In fact, the movement hasn't abandoned its goals, but changed their pace of application.

Dr. Azani currently serves as Deputy Executive Director of the International Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT) at the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) in Herzliya, Israel.

Preface* Social Protest Movements--Theoretical Framework * Development of Social Movements in Muslim Society: The Phenomenon and Its Characteristics * The Shiite Community in Lebanon, and the Background for Hezbollah’s Emergence * Expansion and Institutionalization of the Movement--Constraints and Adaptation * Political Institutionalization and Public Discourse--Adaptation and Legitimization * Hezbollah as a Player in the Lebanese Political Arena--Mutual Influences * Hezbollah as a Regional Player * Hezbollah as a Player in the International Arena * Hezbollah between the IDF's Withdrawal from Lebanon on May 2000 and the Second Lebanon War, July 2006 * Summary and Conclusions