Hezbollah: A Short History (Princeton Studies in Muslim Politics)

About this book

Most policymakers in the United States and Israel have it wrong. Hezbollah isnt a simple terrorist organization--nor is it likely to disappear soon. Following Israels war against Hezbollah in the summer of 2006 the Shii group--which combines the functions of a militia a social service and public works provider and a political party--is more popular than ever in the Middle East while retaining its strong base of support in Lebanon. And Hezbollah didnt merely confront Israel and withstand its military onslaught. Hezbollahs postwar reconstruction efforts were judged better than the U.S. governments response to Hurricane Katrina--not by al-Jazeera but by an American TV journalist. In Hezbollah one of the worlds leading experts on Hezbollah has written the essential guide to understanding the complexities and paradoxes of a group that remains entrenched at the heart of Middle East politics. With unmatched clarity and authority Augustus Richard Norton tells how Hezbollah developed how it has evolved and what direction it might take in the future. Far from being a one-dimensional terrorist group Norton explains Hezbollah is a "janus-faced" organization in the middle of an incomplete metamorphosis from extremism to mundane politics an evolution whose outcome is far from certain. Beginning as a terrorist cats-paw of Iran Hezbollah has since transformed itself into an impressive political party with an admiring Lebanese constituency but it has also insisted on maintaining the potent militia that forced Israel to withdraw from Lebanon in 2000 after almost two decades of occupation. The most accessible informed and balanced analysis of the group yet written Hezbollah is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the Middle East.