Factors Conducive to the Politicization of the Lebanese ShIa and the Emergence of HizbullAh

The objective of this study is to outline the principal forces that have served as catalysts to the politicization of the Shiʹite community in Lebanon, and to uncover the causes of Hizbuʹllahʹs emergence. Though the chief determinants of Shiʹite politicization have been the same social, economic, and political circumstances that have propelled Third World radical and populist movements to action, Hizbuʹllahʹs emergence was not the inevitable byproduct of these conditions. Yet despite the fact that the elements spurring Shiʹite communal mobilization are clearly distinct from those for Shiʹite religious activism, their study is necessary for tracing the roots of Hizbuʹllah insofar as the of the communityʹs mobilization along religious lines was anchored in the decades of political participation that preceded it. As such, Hizbuʹllahʹs genesis can be attributed to a unique composite of both indirect factors (such as modernization and political marginalization) and direct ones (such as foreign intervention and external assistance). Social mobilization and economic development are two aspects of modernization that are conducive to political mobilization. In line with this premiss of social-movement theory, the political mobilization of the Lebanese Shiʹite community was in large part the product of the discrepancy in pace between the Western-inspired model of economic development pursued by the Lebanese state and the social mobilization it engendered. The ensuing radicalization of the Shiʹites was exacerbated by the low level of political institutionalization characterizing the Lebanese political system, with particular reference to the Maronitesʹ hegemony over it. Though these catalysts were essential for the political awakening of the community, Hizbuʹllahʹs birth was directly attributable to the Israeli invasion of 1982 and the Iranian revolutionary paradigm. Moreover, the movementʹs military capability and organizational development owed itself to the political, financial, and logistical support provided by Iran with Syriaʹs approval.