An IASH Work-in-Progress seminar, delivered by Dr Wassim Mroue (IASH-Alwaleed Postdoctoral Fellow; University of Edinburgh).
‘Intra-Sect Peace’ in the Midst of a Civil War? How Syria and Iran laid the first Milestone of the AMAL-Hezbollah Alliance
The dominant literature looks at Lebanon’s intra-Shia politics of the civil war period as largely a reflection of a proxy war between Syria and Iran which manifested itself in rounds of fighting between AMAL and Hezbollah. But this argument conceals the reality that for longer periods of Lebanon’s civil strife, a form of coexistence characterized ties between the two Shia Islamist parties. Drawing on a wealth of Arabic and English primary sources and interviews, this paper introduces a new understanding of Lebanon’s civil war through arguing that Damascus and Tehran sponsored a state of ‘Intra-Sect Peace’ between AMAL and Hezbollah in the final years of the strife. Mediating three peace agreements as of 1985, Syria and Iran restored the balance of ideational and military power between the two armed political groups. By exploring the understudied dynamics of the relationship between AMAL, Hezbollah, Syria and Iran in the 1980s, the paper offers the first researched account of the early phases of a formidable alliance which dominates much of Lebanon’s political scene nowadays. It concludes by explaining that while the mediation of Syria and Iran was necessary in bringing the Hezbollah-AMAL alliance into life, the mutual interests of the two groups, popular support and the personal traits of their current leaders are decisive in keeping it resilient at the present time.
Click the link below to join the webinar:
https://ed-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/86535202023
Passcode: Vr8f3ew2