On the other side of the coin

Abstract

Hezbollah has evolved since 1992 beyond its guerilla identity into a political identity. The sensitive period of 2000-2010 covers best the transformation from a full-fledged guerilla group to a credible political group. One caveat is in order: a guerilla group can be a political group, but for the purpose of the paper, I am using militia group to differentiate it from political group (as in part of the political system of a country in that case Lebanon). This transformation is a consequence of a strategic choice, encouraged by Hezbollah's third Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah (SHN) to integrate Hezbollah into Lebanon's political arena in 1992. Thus, the paper will examine how has this transformation made an impact on the domestic regional and regional politics?