In The Path Of Hizbullah (Modern Intellectual and Political History in the Middle East)

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Summary: Well done
Review: A book in long making that discovers the truth of all the facets of the hizbullah. Fairly edited although, some of the material is outdated, but extremely well written by author. This book is for all thoses who study experts of terrorism; for a study guide, and for those interested in the middle east saddest factor of life.

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Summary: Welcome contribution to contemporary Middle Eastern studies
Review: Associate professor of political science Ahmad Nizar Hamzeh presents In The Path Of Hizbullah, a thorough examination of the history and present-day situation of the Islamist group known as Hizbullah, or the Party of God. Consisting of mainly Lebanese Shiite Muslims, Hizbullah is well known for using both militant and moderate tactics to pursue its goals. Indeed its changing back and forth between extremes has puzzled those who would study it or those who are forced to confront it. In The Path Of Hizbullah details the crises that led to Hizbullah's emergence, its clerical leadership and hierarchical structure, and examines its shifts between militancy and gradualist pragmatism. Research, statistics, and tables flesh out the close scrutiny of Hizbullah's activities, in this unbiased examination of all that Hizbullah is and speculation upon what Hizbullah will become. A welcome contribution to contemporary Middle Eastern studies shelves.


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Summary: Basic insight into Hizbullah
Review: Of the many Islamist groups that have emerged within the Muslim world over the last two decades, perhaps none has had so great an impact on Middle Eastern and international affairs as Hizbullah, the Party of God. This group of mainly Lebanese Shiite Muslims gained both infamy and fame by its pragmatic use of both militant and moderate tactics in pursuit of its goals. Hizbullah's oscillation between these two extremes has left most scholars and policymakers perplexed.
This book serves as a road map for under-standing not only Hizbullah but also other Islamist groups and their challenges to contem¬porary politics. Ahmad Nizar Hamzeh examines the Hizbullah of Lebanon through a structural analysis using original and archival sources. Employing a theoretical framework drawing on a broad range of studies on crisis conditions, lead¬ership, political parties, and guerrilla warfare, In the Path of Hizbullah stands alone in its qualita¬tive and quantitative exploration of one of the most complex contemporary Islamist organizations and offers a thoughtful perspective on the party's future.
Excerpt: This book has been an unhurried project. Its origin dates back to six years ago when I decided to write a book on Hizbullah. For a long time, I have been researching and writing on Lebanon's Islamist movements, in partic¬ular Hizbullah. I intended neither to write a book that serves as a medium for academic promotion, nor to treat Hizbullah's phenomena from a jour¬nalistic perspective. Four years and four drafts later, the present work is the result of my efforts.
One reason it took so long to write this book is that I spent a lot of time working out a conceptual model to lean on and to guide the analysis. The book fills what I believe to be an important gap in the literature. Although there are some books on Hizbullah, almost none draw heavily, as I do, on the sophisticated organizational structure and functions of this Islamic group. Moreover, I have tried to write this book as a mode of inquiry, intel¬ligible to any literate person interested in the subject. My aim has been to be reasonably clear without being simplistic, and to be somewhat original without being merely idiosyncratic. I believe that the result, though slow in coming, is unique.
Studying one of the most complex organizations of all Islamist move¬ments in terms of structures and functions, rather than ideology, has allowed me to develop a conceptual framework of crises and responses that are solidly based on widely accepted theories. The conceptual framework specifies linkages between crisis conditions and responses in terms of ide¬ology, organizational structures, and modes of action. I found it hard to understand Islamist movements, Hizbullah or others, without the aid of conceptual touchstones found in the traditions of Islamic theology, history, and writings of the group's ideologues or fountainheads.