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Middle East Review of International Affairs
Hizballah Rising: The Political Battle for the Loyalty of the Shi’a of Lebanon
by Rodger Shanahan
*
Abstract
The 2004 municipal elections in Lebanon highlighted the competition between Amal and Hizballah for the political loyalty of the Shi’a of Lebanon. The decision by Syria to allow both parties to compete against each other on separate electoral tickets, presented an opportunity to test the parties’ relative popularity. Hizballah emerged the much stronger party, and while it is likely that a joint ticket between Amal and Hizballah will be put in place for the 2005 parliamentary elections, the local government elections illustrate the potential political power of Hizballah. Although both parties compete for the same communal vote, Hizballah’s unity and probity contrast markedly with the Amal Movement, whose reputation amongst the Shi’a community is at its lowest level in years. The growing political popularity of Hizballah poses problems for the United States in its approach to the “War on Terror.”
Full Text (PDF, 6 pages, 44.1 KB)
Note *: Dr. Rodger Shanahan is a Visiting Fellow at the Research Institute for Asia and the Pacific, University of Sydney, and teaches in the university's Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies.