The Hizbullah Phenomenon

Lina Khatib heads the Program on Arab Reform and Democracy at Stanford University's Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law. She is the author of Image Politics in the Middle East (2013). Dina Matar is the Director of the Centre for Media and Film Studies at SOAS, London. She is the author of What it Means to be Palestinian (2010). Atef Alshaer is a post-doctoral and senior teaching fellow at SOAS, University of London and has published many articles and reviews on the literature, politics and culture of the Arab World.

"Hizbullah is not only a leading political actor in Lebanon and a dynamic force in the Middle East, but it is also distinguished by a sophisticated communication strategy. From relatively humble beginnings in the 1980s, Hizbullah's political clout and its public perception have followed an upward trajectory, thanks to a political programme that blends military, social, economic and religious elements and adapts to changes in its environment. Its communication strategy is similarly adaptive, supporting the group's political objectives. Hizbullah's target audience has expanded to a regional and global viewership. Its projected identity, too, shifted from an Islamist resistance party opposed to Israel's presence in Lebanon to a key player within the Lebanese state. At the same time, Hizbullah's image has retained fixed features, including its image as an ally of Iran; its role as a resistance group (to Israel); and its original base as a religious party representative of the Lebanese Shiites. The authors of this book address how Hizbullah uses image, language and its charismatic leader, Hassan Nasrallah, to legitimise its political aims and ideology and appeal to different target groups"