All Azimuth: A Journal of Foreign Policy and Peace 2146-7757 2757-9026 Center for Foreign Policy and Peace Research, İhsan Doğramacı Peace Foundation 10.20991/allazimuth.1310477 Middle East Studies International Security Ortadoğu Çalışmaları Uluslararası Güvenlik Neo-Weberian Reading of Violent Non-State Actors: The Case of Hezbollah https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6013-9299 Yetim Mustafa ESKISEHIR OSMANGAZI UNIVERSITY 06 16 2023 12 2 155 173 10 17 2022 04 09 2023 Copyright © 2012, All Azimuth: A Journal of Foreign Policy and Peace 2012 All Azimuth: A Journal of Foreign Policy and Peace

Multiple-actor reality and the impact of different units, except the states instratified structural relations, have become more apparent in recent internationalrelations. Specifically, the rising role of Violent Non-State Actors (VNSA) inregions like the Middle East and North Africa, and their challenges to the soleand central position of states, reinforced this idea. Hence, comprehending thepossible actorhood of these groups within the structural relations consisting ofinternal and external realms necessitates alternative concepts and challengingarguments. The Neo-Weberian approach, inspired by historical sociology, offersa grounded and balanced analysis of actors. This approach puts state-society atthe center of attention and, thus, looks at all dimensions (both actor and structure)of social relations as ingrained in the theory of structuration. In this way, it seemsto capture the complex interactions between actors and structural dynamics, aswell as the dynamic transformation of both ontological realities. Along this line,this study intends to illuminate the intriguing aspects and certain advantagesof the structuration approach by scrutinizing Hezbollah’s agency, which isa critical VNSA in the Middle East, and its impact on structural relations, aswell as its evolution over time. In other words, as a modest contribution to thestructuration literature, the mutual interaction between agent and structure isexplored via a unique case. This study argues that Hezbollah emerged as a resultof the preexisting structural realities and, during the process, it proved its agencyand influential role on these stratified structural dynamics. To substantiate thesetheoretical arguments, the permissive structural conditions in the region and inLebanon will be explained, and then Hezbollah’s impact as an actor on thesestructural realities will be surveyed with a special emphasis on Hezbollah’s roleover two regional dynamics: Arab uprisings, particularly the Syrian internal war,and its now hegemonic position in Lebanese politics.

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