Alagha 457A Tug of War: Hizbullah, Participation, and
Contestation in the Lebanese Public Sphere
Joseph Alagha
The Lebanese Shi‘i movement Hizbullah has undergone remarkable trans-
formations since its founding in 1978. It started as an Islamic jihad [strug-
gle] of social and political protest by various sectors of Lebanese Shi‘i
clergy and cadres, with Iranian ideological backing. However, over the
period from 1985 to 1991, Hizbullah became a full-fledged social move-
ment in the sense of having a broad overall organization, structure, and
ideology aiming at social change and social justice for its constituents.
Still later, in the early 1990s, Hizbullah became a mainstream political
party participating fully in all aspects of Lebanese national politics.
ith the end of the Lebanese Civil War in 1990, Hizbullah con-W
fronted major developments in Lebanon, especially the emergence of a
pluralist public sphere and an increasing openness between the various
communities, political parties, and interest groups that compose Lebanese
society and the polity. Hizbullah responded by changing its discourse and
priorities, moving from marginalization to integration through a policy
of infitāh. [opening up]. Hizbullah has since become a major player in
the Lebanese milieu and has shifted its strategy from “Islamization” to
“Lebanonization” by propagating a domestic focus for its political pro-
gram. And so, over time, Hizbullah has evolved into an “ordinary” polit-
ical party, allied with a number of other parties and with an extensive
network of social services open to both Muslims and Christians. It par-
ticipates in parliamentary, municipal, and governmental work. Although