Hezbollah's Rise and Decline? How the Political Structure Seems to Hamess the Power of Lebanon's Non-State Armed Group.

In this article I will discuss the transformation from non-state armed group to governing party that the Lebanese Hezbollah has undergone since 2005. The 'hard facts' suggest a success story: the Shiite party has participated in various governments since 2005, brought down the cabinet in 2011, and controlled the formation of a new government. This has sparked widespread fears of an Islamist takeover of power in Lebanon. When we take a broader perspective, however, a different picture emerges: Hezbollah is more dependent on being part of the Lebanese political structure than its rhetoric would suggest or many observers assume. Participation in politics provides the group with much-needed legitimation as a democratic, civil actor, and shields it to some extent from international pressure to disarm. As long as it was enjoying full Syrian support and backing, Hezbollah has not hesitated to challenge the political status quo and risk political breakdown. However, since the beginning of the uprising in Syria, the party has had to tread more carefully. This explains why, since it brought down the Lebanese government in 2011, Hezbollah has largely played by the rules of the political game. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]