Hezbollah —The Paradox Of Influence

Authors

Keywords:

Hezbollah, terrorism, counterterrorism, organisational change, Lebanon

Abstract

This study examines the origins and maturation of Hezbollah from a loose confederation of street fighters to a political force that is able to adapt, transform and expand in one of the most unstable regions of the world. Labelled a terrorist organisation by some of the world’s most powerful nations, this paper argues that Hezbollah’s influence cannot be confined to a reputation born in the violence that gripped Lebanon during its civil war and occupation by Israel. So, what is Hezbollah? Is it a terrorist group, a political party, a social movement, an international power broker? This paper examines its evolution and metamorphoses into its present state of being. Regardless of the general world view, this study finds that Hezbollah has not completed its metamorphoses, for it is still evolving.

Author Biography

  • Nadine Chafik, Charles Sturt University

    Nadine Chafik is a security analyst with the United Nations’ Department of Safety and Security. Her expertise is in global terrorism, the Middle East, as well as North and West Africa. She is a UN certified Hostage Incident Manager and trained in hostage incident intervention. Ms Chafik has participated in numerous hostage incidents crises involving UN staff in multiple regions across the globe. Trained in High Tech Forensic Investigations, her work also encompasses identifying threats to UN staff and operations transmitted through electronic media. She is a former staff member with the United Nations
    Monitoring Group on al-Qaida and the Taliban. Ms Chafik is currently completing the degree of Master of Arts (Terrorism, Safety and Security) at the Australian Graduate School of Policing and Security, Charles Sturt University

References

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Published

2013-03-01

Issue

Issue 1, Number 1, 2013

Section

Articles

License

Authors retain copyright in their articles and grant SALUS the right of first publication. The work is simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as appropriate credit is given to the author(s) and the journal, a link to the license is provided, and any changes made are indicated.

How to Cite

Hezbollah —The Paradox Of Influence. (2013). Salus Journal, 1(1), 2-18. https://journals.csu.domains/index.php/salusjournal/article/view/issue-01-number-01-chafik