Israel and Hizbollah

An asymmetric conflict in historical and comparative perspective

Clive Jones, Sergio Catignani

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2009
• eBook ISBN: 9781135229191
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Military & Maritime History
• Index: History

This book examines the local and international dynamics and strategies that have come to define the often violent relationship between Israel and Lebanon.

Since the end of the Cold War, academic debate over the nature of war in the contemporary world has focused upon the asymmetric nature of conflict among a raft of failed or failing states, often held together by only a fragile notion of a shared communal destiny. Little scholarly attention has been paid, however, to one such conflict that predates the ending of the Cold War, yet still appears as intractable as ever: Israel's hostile relationship with Lebanon and in particular, its standoff with the Lebanese Shi'a militia group, Hizbollah. As events surrounding the 'Second Lebanon War' in the summer of 2006 demonstrate, the clear potential for further cross border violence as well as the potential for a wider regional conflagration that embraces Damascus and Tehran remains as acute as ever.

This book focuses on the historical background of the conflict, while also considering the role that other external actors, most notably Syria, Iran and the United Nations, play in influencing the conduct and outcomes of the Israeli-Lebanese conflict. In addition, it also looks at Hizbollah's increasing sway in Lebanese domestic politics, its increased military cooperation with Iran and Syria, and the implications of such developments.

This book will be of much interest to students of Middle Eastern politics, War and Conflict Studies, International Security and International Relations in general.

Clive Jones is Professor of Middle East Studies and International Politics in the School of Politics and International Studies (POLIS), University of Leeds, UK. His books include Soviet Jewish Aliyah 1989-92 (1996), Israel: Challenges to Democracy, Identity and the State (with Emma Murphy, 2002), and co-editor The al-Aqsa Intifada: Between Terrorism and Civil War (2005).

Sergio Catignani is Lecturer in Security and Strategic Studies and MA Programme Director for the MA in Security and Strategic Studies at the Department of Politics, University of Sussex. He is the author of Israeli Counter-Insurgency and the Intifadas: Dilemmas of a Conventional Army (2008).

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half Title page
• Series Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• List of Contributors
• 1 Introduction
• 2 From benign to malign Israeli–Lebanese relations, 1948–78
• 3 From the Litani to Beirut – Israel's invasions of Lebanon, 1978–85 Causes and consequences
• 4 The emergence of Hizbollah and the beginnings of resistance, 1982–85
• 5 Hizbollah – from terror to resistance Towards a national defence strategy
• 6 Israeli counter-insurgency strategy and the quest for security in the Israeli–Lebanese conflict arena
• 7 ‘A reach greater than the grasp’ Israeli intelligence and the conflict in south Lebanon 1990–2000*
• 8 The pragmatic and the radical Syria and Iran and war by proxy
• 9 Forever at the crossroads Hizbollah's combined strategies of accommodation and resistance
• 10 The hubris of initial victory The IDF and the Second Lebanon War
• 11 Conclusion
• Glossary
• Notes
• Select bibliography
• Index