Few political parties have been as misunderstood—or as roundly condemned—as Lebanon’s Hezbollah. With this book, Joseph Daher presents a new way of looking at Hezbollah: through the lens of political economy.
By discarding more common approaches to the party that focus on religious discourse or military questions, Daher is freed up to analyze what the party actually is: an organization that is operating within a specific political and socio-economic context, one that simultaneously offers it a rich ground of support and limits its range of action. Daher clearly and carefully positions Hezbollah within that context, focusing on its historic ties with its main sponsor, Iran, its media and cultural wings, its relationship with Western economic policies, and the impact of the Shi’a population on the sectarian politics of Lebanon. Offering additional attention to the party’s positions on worker’s rights and women’s issues, this fresh take on Hezbollah will be incredibly useful for understanding the world’s most tumultuous region.