Hezbollah: A Short History, by Augustus Edward Norton

Princeton University Press, 2007

In order to best analyze Hezbollah, Augustus Edward Norton harks back to its prehistory. Following Lebanon’s independence in 1943, the mithaq al watani allowed to set up a confessional political system in which the Shii’s community was given little power through parliament. However, explains the author, a sequence of political, domestic and social events led to its politicization. The revolutionary Shia, emboldened by the 1982 Israeli military take-over, seized that opportunity to create Hezbollah typified by an unwavering sense of loyalty towards Iran Islamic revolution.

Over the course of the 1980s decade, Hezbollah’s popularity grew stronger within the Shia’s community as it outmaneuvered Amal in supporting the Palestinian guerillas. However, does Hezbollah’s military activity qualify as terrorism? According to Norton, until Israel’s withdrawal from South of Lebanon, Hezbollah was in its right to defy the occupier. It wasn’t until 2000 that it lost its legitimacy on a legal standpoint. Moreover, through the years, Hezbollah distanced itself from its revolutionary tone to endorse the “game of confessional politics” it had denounced so harshly before.

Hariri’s assassination on 14th February 2005 was undeniably a turning point in Lebanon’s History. Sharing ticket with Amal and working hand in hand with Michel Aoun, Hezbollah filibustered as long as it could to mitigate the UN-led investigation on Hariri’s death and to counterweight the Cedar Revolution coalition. The 2006 war broke out when the tensions between Hezbollah and Israel, through mutual provocations, reached a climax. All in all, the war came at a ruinous cost for both sides, but neither has decisively won.

As its popularity grew wider in the Arab world, Hezbollah’s support was more ambivalent within Lebanon. The war’s hectic aftermath divided the country in two, the Maronite-Sunni-Druze coalition versus the Hezbollah-Aoun coalition. Whatever awaits Lebanon, analyses the author, the country has a history of a shifting political system, moving back and forth from a community to another. Mindful of that fact, Hezbollah has pledged to respect Lebanon multi-cultural background. However, the challenges of bridging the gap between the different confessions still lie ahead. Only time will tell if the “Party of God” will play a constructive or an undermining role concerning that matter.

In an additional note, the author draws the conclusion that the threat of a new war cannot be dismissed in the wake of the US-Iran growing tensions about the nuclear enrichment. The toppling of Saddam Hussein has paradoxically empowered the Shia in the region, increasing de facto Hezbollah’s momentum. In that eerie atmosphere, it is ironically Lebanon’s insolvability that could be its best defense.

Reviewed by Line Zouhour