Neo-Weberian Reading of Violent Non-State Actors: The Case of Hezbollah

Year 2023, Volume: 12 Issue: 2, 155 - 173, 16.06.2023

Mustafa Yetim

https://doi.org/10.20991/allazimuth.1310477

Abstract

Multiple-actor reality and the impact of different units, except the states in
stratified structural relations, have become more apparent in recent international
relations. Specifically, the rising role of Violent Non-State Actors (VNSA) in
regions like the Middle East and North Africa, and their challenges to the sole
and central position of states, reinforced this idea. Hence, comprehending the
possible actorhood of these groups within the structural relations consisting of
internal and external realms necessitates alternative concepts and challenging
arguments. The Neo-Weberian approach, inspired by historical sociology, offers
a grounded and balanced analysis of actors. This approach puts state-society at
the 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 seems
to capture the complex interactions between actors and structural dynamics, as
well as the dynamic transformation of both ontological realities. Along this line,
this study intends to illuminate the intriguing aspects and certain advantages
of the structuration approach by scrutinizing Hezbollah’s agency, which is
a critical VNSA in the Middle East, and its impact on structural relations, as
well as its evolution over time. In other words, as a modest contribution to the
structuration literature, the mutual interaction between agent and structure is
explored via a unique case. This study argues that Hezbollah emerged as a result
of the preexisting structural realities and, during the process, it proved its agency
and influential role on these stratified structural dynamics. To substantiate these
theoretical arguments, the permissive structural conditions in the region and in
Lebanon will be explained, and then Hezbollah’s impact as an actor on these
structural realities will be surveyed with a special emphasis on Hezbollah’s role
over two regional dynamics: Arab uprisings, particularly the Syrian internal war,
and its now hegemonic position in Lebanese politics.

Keywords

Hezbollah, Violent Non-State Actors (VNSA), Neo-Weberian Approach

References

• Agnew, John. “The Territorial Trap: The Geographical Assumptions of International Relations Theory.” Review of International Political Economy 1, no. 1 (1994): 53-80.
• Alagha, Joseph. “Hezbollah and the Arab Spring.” Contemporary Review of the Middle East 1, no. 2 (2014): 189-206.
• “‘All of them means all of them’: Lebanon protest slogans.” France24, October 21, 2019. Accessed June 1, 2023. https://www.france24.com/en/20191021-all-of-them-means-all-of-them-lebanon-protest-slogans
• Al-Aloosy, Massaab. “Hezbollah in Syria: An Insurgent’s Ideology, Interest, and Survival.” Middle East Policy 29, no. 1 (2022): 125-138.
• Ali, Hassanein. “Post-arab spring: the arab world between the dilemma of the nation-state and the rise of violent non-state actors (VNSAs).” Asian Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies 14, no.1 (2020): 68-83.
• Akbarzadeh, Shahram. “Why does Iran need Hizbullah?” The Muslim World 106, no. 1 (2016): 127-140.
• Al-Husseini, Rola. “Hezbollah and the Axis of Refusal: Hamas, Iran and Syria.” Third World Quarterly 31, no. 5 (2010): 803-815.
• Atzili, Boaz. “State Weakness and ‘Vacuum of Power’ in Lebanon.” Studies in Conflict & Terrorism 33, no. 8 (2010): 757-782.
• Aydınlı, Ersel. Violent non-state actors: From Anarchists to Jihadists. New York: Routledge, 2016.
• Aydınlı, Ersel. “Assessing violent non-state actorness in global politics: a framework for analysis.” Cambridge Review of International Affairs 28, no. 3 (2015): 424-444.
• Barak, Oren. “Lebanon: Failure, Collapse, and Resuscitation.” In State Failure and State Weakness in a Time of Terror, edited by Robert I. Rotberg, 305-340. Washington: The Brookings Institution Press, 2003.
• Bahout, Joseph. “Lebanon at the brink: The impact of the Syrian Civil War.” Middle East Brief 76 (2014): 1-7.
• Berti, Benedetta. “Hizbullah, Hamas, and the “Arab Spring” - Weathering the Regional Storm?” Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs 6, no. 3 (2012): 21-29.
• Burchill, S., A. Linklater and R. Devetak, eds., Theories of International Relations. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005.
• Büthe, Tim. “Governance Through Private Authority: Non-state Actors in World Politics.” Journal of International Affairs 58, no. 1 (2004): 281-291.
• Carvalho, Benjamin De, Halvard Leira and John M. Hobson. “The Big Bangs of IR: The Myths that your teachers still tell you about 1648 and 1919.” Millennium: Journal of International Studies 39, no. 3 (2011): 5-10.
• Chernilo, Daniel. “Methodological Nationalism and Domestic Analogy; the Classical Resources of Their Critique.” Cambridge Review of International Relations 23, no. 1 (2010): 87-106.
• Dabashi, Hamid. “Arab Spring exposes Nasrallah’s hypocrisy.” Al-Jazeera, June 22, 2011.
• Deeb, Lara. “Hezbollah: A Primer.” Middle East Report Online, July 31, 2006.
• Dekmejian, Richard Hrair. “Consociational Democracy in Crisis: The Case of Lebanon.” Comparative Politics 10, no.2 (1978): 251-265.
• Dionigi, Filippo. Hezbollah, Islamist Politics, And International Society. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014.
• Donnelly, Jack. “Realism.” In Theories of International Relations, edited by Scott Burchill, Andrew Linklater and
• Richard Devetak, 30-53. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005: 30-53.
• Dunne, Tim, Mija Kurki and Steve Smith, eds.. International Relations Theories: Discipline and Diversity. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007.
• Early, Bryan R. “Larger Than a Party, Yet Smaller Than a State.” World Affairs 168, no. 3 (2006): 115-128.
• El-Husseini, Rola. “Hezbollah and the axis of refusal: Hamas, Iran and Syria.” Third World Quarterly 31, no. 5 (2010): 803-815.
• Fakhoury, Tamirace. “Do power-sharing systems behave differently amid regional uprisings? Lebanon in the Arab protest wave.” The Middle East Journal 68, no. 4 (2014): 505-520.
• Fisk, Robert. “Hezbollah threatens the peaceful and non-sectarian protests in Lebanon.” Independent, October 25, 2019.
• Gadzo, Mersiha. “Lebanon protests: ‘difficult, delicate’ situation for Hezbollah.” Al-Jazeera, October 27, 2019.
• Gadzo, Mersiha. “‘All of them’: Lebanon protesters dig in after Nasrallah’s speech.” Al-Jazeera, October 25, 2019.
• Gause, F. Gregory. The International Relations of the Persian Gulf. UK: Cambridge University Press, 2010.
• Giddens, Anthony. Constitution of Society: Outline of the theory of structuration. University of California Press, 1984.
• Gleis, L. and Benedetta Berti. Hezbollah and Hamas: A comparative study. Baltimore: JHU Press, 2012.
• Grynkewich, Alexus G. “Welfare as Warfare: How Violent Non-State Groups Use Social Services to Attack the State.” Studies in Conflict&Terrorism 31, no. 4 (2008): 350-370.
• Halliday, Fred. Rethinking International Relations. London: Macmillan Press, 1994.
• Halliday, Fred. “Three Concepts of Internationalism.” International Affairs 64, no. 1 (1988): 188-198.
• Halliday, Fred. “For an International Sociology.” Historical Sociology of International Relations, edited by Stephen Hobden and John M. Hobson, 244-265. UK: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
• Hobden, Stephen and John M. Hobson, eds.. Historical Sociology of International Relations. UK: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
• Hobden, Stephen. International Relations and Historical Sociology; Breaking Down Boundaries. New York: Routledge, 2006.
• Hobden, Stephen. “Historical Sociology: back to the future of international relations?” In Historical Sociology of International Relations, edited by Stephen Hobden and John M. Hobson, 42-63. UK: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
• Hobden, Stephen. “Theorising the international system: perspectives from Historical Sociology.” Review of International Studies, 25, no.2 (1999): 257-271.
• Hobson, John M. “Debate: The ‘second wave’ of Weberian Historical Sociology-The Historical Sociology of state and the state of historical sociology in international relations.” Review of International Political Economy 5, no. 2 (1998): 284-320.
• Hobson, John M. The State and International Relations. Australia: Cambridge University Press, 2000.
• Hobson, John M. “The ‘second state debate’ in International Relations: theory turned upside-down.” Review of international Studies 27, no. 3 (2001): 395-414.
• Hobson, John M. “Two Waves of Weberian Historical Sociology in international relations.” In Historical Sociology of International Relations, edited by Stephen Hobden and John M. Hobson, 63-82. UK: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
• Hobson, John M. and Stephen Hobden. “On the Road towards an historicized world sociology.” In Historical Sociology of International Relations, edited by Stephen Hobden and John M. Hobson, 265-286. UK: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
• Ikenberry, G. John. “The Liberal International Order and Its Discontents.” Milennium Journal of International Studies 38, no. 3 (2010): 509-521.
• “Is Hezbollah heading for an early exit from Syria?” TRT World, September 15, 2020. Accessed June 1, 2023. https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/is-hezbollah-heading-for-an-early-exit-from-syria-39783
• Jackson, Robert and George Sorenson. Introduction to International Relations: Theories and Approaches. New York; Oxford University Press, 2007.
• Karam, Karam. “An Analysis of Political Change in Lebanon in the light of Recent Mobilization Cycles.” In The Arab State and Neo-liberalization; The Restructuring of State Power in the Middle East, edited by Laura Guazzone and Daniela Pioppi, 47-70, UK: Ithaca Press, 2009.
• Knio, Karim. “Structure, Agency and Hezbollah: A Morphogenetic View.” Third World Quarterly 34, no. 5 (2013): 856-872.
• Laponinte, Thierry and Frederick Guillaume Dufour. “Assessing the Historical Turn in IR: An Anatomy of Second Wave Historical Sociology.” Cambridge Review of International Affairs 25, no. 1 (2011): 97-121.
• Lawson, George. “Halliday’s Revenge: Revolutions and International Relations.” International Affairs 87, no. 5 (2011): 1067-1085.
• Lawson, George. “The Social Sources of Life, the Universe and Everything: A Conversation with Michael Mann.” Millennium Journal of International Studies 34, no. 2 (2006): 487-508.
• Lijphart, Arend. “Consociational Democracy.” World politics 21, no. 2 (1969): 207-225.
• Linklater, Andrew. “Marxism.” In Theories of International Relations, edited by Scott Burchill, Andrew Linklater and Richard Devetak, 110-137. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005..
• Migdal, Joel S. State in Society: Studying How States and Societies Transform and Constitute One Another. UK: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
• Mokhtari, Fariboz. “Countering Terrorism: Could Hezbollah and Hamas Show the Way?” Contemporary Security Policy 27, no. 3 (2006): 376-396.
• Mulaj, Kledja, ed.. Violent Non-State Actors in World Politics. New York: Columbia University Press, 2010.
• Mulaj, Kledja. “Violent Non-State Actors: Exploring Their State Relations, and Operationality.” In Violent Non-State Actors in World Politics, edited by Kledja Mulaj, 1-27. New York: Columbia University Press, 2010.
• Nahas, Maridi. “State-systems and revolutionary challenge: Nasser, Khomeini, and the Middle East.” International Journal of Middle East Studies 17, no. 4 (1985): 507-527.
• Nir, Omri. “The shi’ites during the 1958 Lebanese crisis.” Middle Eastern Studies 40, no. 6 (2004): 109-129.
• Norton, Augustus Richard. “Hizballah and the Israeli withdrawal from Southern Lebanon.” Journal of Palestine Studies 30, no. 1 (2000): 22-35.
• Norton, Augustus Richard. Hezbollah: A Short History. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2007.
• Norton, Augustus Richard. “The role of Hezbollah in Lebanese domestic politics.” The International Spectator 42, no. 4 (2007): 475-491.
• Ranstorp, Magnus. “The strategy and tactics of Hizballah’s current ‘Lebanonization process.’”, Mediterranean Politics 3, no. 1 (1998): 103-134
• Rose, Sunniva. “Protests in Hezbollah stronghold continue despite intimidation.” The National, November 7, 2019.
• Rudner, Martin. “Hizbullah: An Organizational and Operational Profile.” International Journal of Intelligence and Counter-Intelligence 23, no. 2 (2010): 226-246.
• Ruggie, John Gerard. “Territoriality and Beyond: Problematizing Modernity in International Relations.” International Organization 47, no. 1 (1993): 139-174.
• Saad-Ghorayeb, Amal. “Challenging the sponsor-proxy model: the Iran–Hizbullah relationship.” Global Discourse 9, no. 4 (2019): 627-650.
• Saad-Ghorayeb, Amal. “Factors Conducive to the Politicization of the Lebanese Shi’a and Emergence of Hizbullah.” Journal of Islamic Studies 14, no. 3 (2003): 273-307.
• Saad-Ghorayeb, Amal. Hizbu’llah: Politics and Religion. London: Pluto Press, 2002.
• Salloukh, Bassel F., “The Syrian war: spillover effects on Lebanon.” Middle East Policy 24, no. 1 (2017): 62-78.
• Saouli, Adham. “Hizbollah’s intervention in Syria: Causes and consequences.” In The War for Syria, edited by Raymond Hinnebusch and Adham Saouli, 69-85. New York: Routledge, 2019.
• Saouli, Adham. “Stability Under Late State Formation: The Case of Lebanon.” Cambridge Review of International Affairs 19, no. 4 (2006): 701-717.
• Seaver, Brenda M. “The Regional Sources of Power-Sharing Failure: The Case of Lebanon.” Political Science of Quarterly 115, no. 2 (2000): 247-271.
• Shanahan, Rodger. The Shia of Lebanon: Clans, Parties and Clerics. London: Touris Academic Studies, 2005.
• Shapira, Shimon. “The Origins of Hizballah”, Jerusalem Quarterly 46, 1988: 115-130.
• Sirwan Kajjo. “Hezbollah Leader: We Have Reduced Our Military Presence in Syria.” VOA, July 14, 2019. Accessed June 1, 2023. https://www.voanews.com/a/extremism-watch_hezbollah-leader-we-have-reduced-our-militarypresence-syria/6171828.html
• Slim, Randa. “Hezbollah and Syria: from regime proxy to regime savior.” Insight Turkey 6, no. 2 (2014): 61-68.
• Smith, Steve. “Historical Sociology and International Relations Theory.” In Historical Sociology of International Relations, edited by Stephen Hobden and John M. Hobson, 223-243. UK: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
• Teschke, Benno. “Advances and Impasses in Fred Halliday’s International Historical Sociology: A Critical Appraisal.” International Affairs 87, no. 5 (2011): 1087-1106.
• Tueni, Nayla. “Lebanon’s Baabda Declaration, a national necessity.” Al-Arabiya, June 26, 2015.
• Valbjorn, Morten. “Arab Nationalism (s) in Transformation.” In International Society and the Middle East: English School Theory at the Regional Level, edited by Barry Buzan and Ana Gonzalez-Pelaez, 140-169. UK: Palgrave Studies, 2009.
• Vinci, Anthony. “Anarchy, Failed States and Armed Groups: Reconsidering Conventional Analysis.” International Studies Quarterly 52, no. 2 (2008): 295-314. Weaver, Ole. “The Rise and Fall of Inter-Paradigm Debate.” In International Theory: Positivism and Beyond, edited by Steve Smith, Ken Booth and Marysia Zalewski, 149-185. UK: Cambridge University Press, 1996.
• Wendt, Alexander. “The Agent-Structure Problem in International Relations Theory.” International Organization 41, no. 3 (1987): 335-470.
• Wight, Colin. Agents, Structures and International Relations: Politics as Ontology. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006.
• Worral, James. “Reading Booth in Beirut: Is Hizbollah an Emancipatory Actor.” Studies in Conflict & Terrorism 36, no. 3 (2013): 235-254.
• Yeşiltaş, Murat, Tuncay Kardaş, and Tim Jacoby. “Rethinking non-state armed actors and sovereignty.” International Politics 60, no. 1 (2023): 1-6.
• Yeşiltaş, Murat, and Tuncay Kardaş, eds.. Non-state armed actors in the Middle East: Geopolitics, Ideology, and Strategy. Switzerland: Springer, 2017.
• Yetim, Mustafa. “Şiddet Eğilimli ve Direniş Temelli Şii Aktivizmi: Hizbullah’ın Fikirsel ve Örgütsel Zemini [Violent and resistance-based Shia activism: Hezbollah’s ideational and organizational ground],” Türkiye Ortadoğu Çalışmaları Dergisi 2, no. 2 (2015): 59-88.
• Yetim, Mustafa. “Post-Election Dynamics in Lebanon: From Bi-Polar to Tri-Polar Political Structure.” Al-Sharq Strategic Research, July 2022.
• Yetim, Mustafa. “Blok Siyaseti Üzerinden Lübnan Protestoları [Lebanese Protests via Bloc Politics].” Ortadoğu Araştırmaları Merkezi 239, (2020): 1-29.
• Yetim, Mustafa and Rıdvan Kalaycı. “Tracing the Political Origins of the Hezbollah’s Resistance Discourse: From Revisionism to Status Quo.” Asian Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies 16, no. 2 (2022): 209-224.