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Intro -- Endorsements -- Half Title -- Series Page -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Contents -- Abbreviations -- 1. Introduction -- Questions Addressed -- The Plausibility of Transitions -- A Theoretical Framework: ANSAs and Sectarianism -- Explaining the Terminologies -- Map of the Book -- Notes -- 2. Background, Emergence, and Religious and Political Allegiances -- Historical Background -- The Nexus between Hezbollah and Iran's Islamic Republic: Wilayat al-Faqih -- Debating Hezbollah -- Conclusion -- Notes -- 3. Lebanon: Hezbollah's Den -- First Parliamentary Elections: Infitah Policy -- Post-Syria Withdrawal: Into the Government -- Memorandum of Understanding -- The July War: Toward a New Power Balance? -- The "7 May" Clashes and the Doha Agreement: A Sect-Coded Confrontation -- Aoun's Rise to Power -- En 'Odtom 'Odna: Arsal's Barren Hills -- The 2018 Parliamentary Elections: Hezbollah's Massive Win -- Hezbollah's Response to the 17 October Uprising -- Conclusion -- Notes -- 4. The Geopolitical Contest and Hezbollah's Sect-Centricity -- Palestine: Hezbollah's raison d'être -- Hezbollah in Post-Saddam Iraq -- The Battle for Syria -- From al-Qusayr to Qalamoun: Hezbollah's Sectarian Mobilization -- The Frenzied Hours of the War: Demystifying Hezbollah's Full-Scale Engagement -- Hezbollah in the Saudi Backyard: Yemen -- Conclusion -- Notes -- 5. The Transition: A Regional Armed Non-State Actor -- Syria's Sect-Coded Conflict: The War of Necessity -- Hezbollah's Political Instrumentalization of Sectarian Identity -- The Shift to a Quasi-Army -- From Beirut to Tehran: A Partnership Demystified -- Conclusion -- Notes -- 6. Hezbollah's Paroxysm: What Next? -- Notes -- Index.

"This book examines Hezbollah's transition from a domestic into a regional armed non-state actor (ANSA). Taking its point of departure in Hezbollah's historiography on the military and political levels in Lebanon, it focuses on the participation of Hezbollah's troops in Syria's sect-coded civil war. Initially limited, Hezbollah's intervention in the Syrian conflict gradually increased into a full-scale engagement across vast swathes of Syrian territory, with Hezbollah instrumentalizing its sectarian (Shiʻa) identity to justify its engagement. Sect-centric narratives and victimhood were a mere tool for what was a geopolitical confrontation, and Hezbollah's involvement launched it to becoming a regional ANSA. The book outlines that this transition was only plausible because of the interplay between three factors: Hezbollah's sectarian mobilization and instrumentalization of its sectarian identity; the shift into a quasi-army combining classical with guerrilla tactics and formations; and its embedding as a partner in the axis which now extends from Beirut to Tehran. It was in 2018 that a set of conditions, impossible to reproduce, allowed Hezbollah to reach its culmination on both the domestic and regional theatres. This book shows that ANSAs are playing prominent roles in the regional order in the Middle East. Meticulously researched, Hezbollah is a comprehensive study ideal for upper-level undergraduates and above with an interest in Middle East studies, Middle East politics and international relations"--

AbstractWhat factors are relevant for explaining why and how sectarian relations are driven from below? To answer this question, the present article builds on the sectarianism literature and scholarship by taking the Druze minority as a case study. It examines a new trend that emerged among the Druze in 2020–21: sect‐centric anthems. One can draw on two occurrences that triggered the rise of such anthems: First, the sect‐coded 11 May clashes which occurred between Hezbollah (Shi'a) and the Druze in 2008. Second, the sect‐coded civil war in Syria and the confrontations that ensued, namely, the attacks against Druze areas by Sunni jihadist groups. For our purposes, this article argues that sectarian mobilization through these anthems has been driven from below and the fear from the sectarian "other" has amplified because of recent menaces against the Druze. Accordingly, the article contextualizes these sect‐centric songs which focused on the interplay between two main factors: Druze historiography and tacit polemic against the sectarian "other."

This article surveys Hezbollah's sectarian mobilization to justify its early engagement in Syria's civil war for what was an intervention in a geopolitical confrontation to implement its agenda in coordination with its regional allies. Generally speaking, sectarian relations can be driven from both above as well as below. The article first argues that Hezbollah is a sectarian party whose timing of emergence paralleled with the rise of the Shia in Lebanon and the adjoining region. It contends that Hezbollah instrumentalized its sectarian identity and adopted a sectarian mobilization policy ahead of its engagement in Syria's conflict. However, as its fighters were expanding across the country, Hezbollah's sectarian discourse altered to a more politics-centric discourse. Therefore, this article concludes that the falsely framed sectarian conflict in Syria is sect-coded, Hezbollah adopted a top-down politicization of sectarian identity, and its primary aim was to prevent the regime's collapse, which would have tilted the regional balance of power in favor of its rivals rather than seeking religious truths on Syria's soil.