Hezbollah : Towards Lebanonisation ?

Résumé du document

Labelling Hezbollah raises a series of difficulties. Indeed, born as a non-state actor in the early 1980s, the Party of God is now running as a regular political force for the 2009-legislative elections. Furthermore, while the movement is depicted by Western media and politicians as a terrorist Islamist enigma, it claims to be a force of resistance to Israel. Born of a Shia secret organization after the 1982-Israeli invasion, Hezbollah has expanded its activities to the social and political fields. Furthermore, it has adapted its blueprint to national, regional and international changes. One could thus wonder why Hezbollah has changed and what path it took. In fact, Hezbollah has lebanonised. Since 1982, one can indeed observe the movement as an 'integration policy in the Lebanese public sphere'.

Extraits

[...] MERVIN Sabrina (sous la direction Le Hezbollah, état des lieux, page 79. HAJJAR Sami G., Hizballah : Terrorism, National Liberation or Menace ? page 11. NORTON Augustus, Hezbollah, A Short History, page 72. Among others, the Israeli army created camps to jail the resistants, like the Ansar camp or the prison of al-Khiam. PICARD Elizabeth, The Demobilization of the Lebanese Militias, page 17. ALAGHA Joseph, The Shifts in Hizbllah's ideology, Religious ideology, Political ideology, and Political Program, page 12 NORTON Augustus, Hezbollah, A Short History, page 85. [...]

[...] In 1989, the Taif Agreement meant to end the civil war and set a new balance of power distribution. In this context, Hezbollah decided to enter the regular political game. In 1992, the first post-war elections were held. As Norton affirms : 1992 elections posed a crucial question for Hezbollah : Should the party adhere to its previous denunciation of the confessional electoral system as corrupt, [ ] or seize the moment and compete in the election Whereas the consensus on the non-participation to the Lebanese political life had prevailed so far, it unraveled. [...]

[...] PALMER HARIK Judith, Hezbollah, The Changing Face of Terrorism, page 81. PALMER HARIK Judith, Hezbollah, The Changing Face of Terrorism, page 82. When the French drew Great Lebanon, they integrated the Shi'a regions the Biq'a valley and South Lebanon. However, as they thought of Lebanon as a Christian foothold in the Middle East, the Christian community was favoured over the Muslim ones. CORM Georges, Le Liban contemporain, Histoire et Société, page 106. In 1962, a report, Besoins et possibilités de développement du Liban, disclosed that the economic inequalities in Lebanon were among the most highest in the world, the Shi'as being the principal victims. [...]

[...] Nonetheless, it should not be forget that Hezbollah's lebanonisation is incomplete. Flaws Of Hezbollah's Integration : Threat And The Question On Lebanonism The aftermaths of 2000 proved the fragility of the Lebanese consensus. The contemporary events indeed proved that Hezbollah could constitute a threat to the Lebanese State. Nonetheless, they also shed light on two competitive definitions of lebanonism, one defended by the 8th-March coalition while the other promoted by the 14th-March alliance. Together, they make it more difficult to evaluate objectively Hezbollah's lebanonisation. [...]

[...] In the short term, the Doha Agreement certainly appeased the worry, by favoring the election of a new President, Michel Sleimane. Nonetheless, Hezbollah's activities remain problematic as they go against the assertion of a stronger Lebanese State. As Joseph Bahout notes[56], the problem is to determine whether Hezbollah goes against the rules because it developed outside the system so it is not really aware of them, or because it voluntarily chooses not to respect them. It remains that the 2008-events also brought into sharp focus the challenge of defining lebanonism[57]. [...]