Massaab Al-Aloosy
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Massaab Al-Aloosy [email protected] EDUCATION The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy - Tufts University PhD, Fields of study: Middle East and Security Studies February 2018 Dissertation Title: Fundamentalist Metamorphosis: Hezbollah's Evolution from Ideological Ideals to Pragmatic Practices. Related coursework: Understanding the Arab Spring , in Harvard Kennedy School, instructor David Ignatius; Islam and Politics , instructor Vali Nasr The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy – Tufts University Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy June 2013 Thesis title: Iran’s Iraq; the Roots of Tehran’s Influence in Iraq James Madison College – Michigan State University Bachelor of Arts – International Relations with a minor in Political Science June 2009 PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE World Peace Foundation , Medford, MA (United States) Researcher June 2013 –September 2013 • Contributed regularly and assisted with editorial efforts for the official blog regarding Middle East affairs http://sites.tufts.edu/reinventingpeace/author/malalo01 • Conducted outreach to gain panelists, participated in the panel, and was part of the committee for a seminar “How Mass Atrocities End: Iraq” that included Kanan Makiya, Joost Hilterman, and Yahiah Al Kubaisi • Edited and translated unclassified government documents that were published in the website as part of the Reinventing Peace Project about Sudan with Alex De Waal Al Jazeera, Doha, Qatar Researcher in the Iraq Desk and Assistant Interview Producer October 2009 – August 2011 • Collected, and analyzed information related to the coverage of the Arab Spring in Tunisia, Egypt, Syria, Libya and Yemen by interviewing guests • Shared and obtained information on Iraqi print and online media and created briefs for the editorial board • Monitored, developed, and reported on various events in Iraq, led the coverage for the Iraqi elections • Provided political analysis and socioeconomic assessment on day-to-day events • Connected with and interviewed key political figures such as Iyad Allawi, Saleh Al Mutlaq, and Tariq Al Hashimi as part of the research effort of the changing governance structure in Iraq Al Jazeera, Baghdad, Iraq Journalist January 2004 – June 2005 • Obtained exclusive access for Al Jazeera to the hearing of Saddam Hussein through developed and maintained contacts. Provided access to restricted sites including the Green Zone, and the Kindy Palace, and the Balad Base i • Restored relations between Al-Jazeera and US Army after it was broken post-2003 through arranging high-level meetings and facilitating agreements • Provided all the necessary means to produce reports about Iraq in various provinces, and travelled widely in the country as well and covered the Iraqi insurgency in Fallujah ADDITIONAL SKILLS Languages: Arabic (Full professional proficiency), and English (Native proficiency) Publications: Wrote for the Fletcher Forum: www.fletcherforum.org/2014/02/19/al-aloosy/ ii Fundamentalist Metamorphosis : Hezbollah's Evolution From Ideological Ideals to Pragmatic Practices A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy By Massaab Al-Aloosy In Partial fulfillment of the requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy October 2016 Dissertation Committee Richard H. Shultz, Jr Chair Robert L. Pfaltzgraff, Jr. Ibrahim Fraihat iii Abstract What is the effect of political change on an insurgency's ideology? What causes an insurgency to perceive who the enemy is? What happens to the ideology when a more imminent, more terrifying threat arises? And is it possible for an insurgency to change the perception of who the enemy is or include yet another one? This research advances the argument that an insurgency would shift the perception of who the enemy is depending on the perceived threat. The ideology will consequently change as well to legitimize the use of violence in order to preserve the group’s survival. The specific case study is the change in Hezbollah’s ideology because of its involvement in the Syrian civil war. Israel was the main enemy from the year Hezbollah was formally created in 1985 and continued to be so after the Israeli withdrawal from Southern Lebanon in 2000. The main aim of Hezbollah now, however, is to help the Syrian regime stay in power because the alternative constitutes an existential threat. Syria has been one of the most important players - at times the sole player - in Lebanon. Consequently, whoever controls Syria would have massive influence in Lebanon so if the Assad regime is toppled the alternative will not be favorable to Hezbollah’s interest. Hezbollah's leadership believed their interest dictates military intervention, and consequently ideology took a legitimizing role through purporting several reasons for intervention in Syria. I employed a within case study through looking at four time periods of Hezbollah's history, and obtained data through interviews, a focus group, and secondary sources and documentation. The results of the research addressed a gap in the literature through explaining a different dynamic between a patron-state and an insurgency. The norm has been a varied support by patron-states to insurgencies, but in this instance the roles are iv reversed. Moreover, the result explained the changing role of insurgency's ideology. While most scholars believe ideology has a fixed role, this research proved ideologies evolve and change. These new phenomena are worthy of academic analysis and may help construct policy prescriptions that could be applied in the Middle East and other parts of the world. Furthermore, there has been an exponential rise in the number of insurgences in several countries that are based on sectarian identities. The finding of the research presented a different understanding as to the significance of ideology for insurgencies. v Table of Content: Chapter 1 - Page 1 1. Introduction – Page 1 a. Problem Statement b. Research Question and Hypothesis 2. Literature review – Page 5 a. Decision Making Process b. Insurgencies' Ideology c. Hezbollah 3. Methodology – Page 20 a. Within Case Analysis b. Research design c. Definitions d. Endogeneity 4. Conclusion – Page 29 Chapter 2 – Page 30 1. On the Outskirts of an Empire – Page 31 a. The Pariah Brother b. The Birth Defects of a State 2. History Walking on Two Legs – Page 42 a. Radical Change b. The Palestinian Cause 3. God's Party – Page 56 a. The Battle for the Shia b. The Israeli Juggernaut c. Ideological Export d. Genesis 4. Conclusion – Page 80 vi Chapter 3 – Page 85 1. Fundamentalist Metamorphosis – Page 87 a. The New Aeon b. Charm Offensive c. Refashioning Islamism d. Relationship Restructuring e. Radical Twins 2. The Trio – Page 106 a. Fighting Goliath b. Lebanon's Baron c. The Poisonous Gift 3. Conclusion – Page 126 Chapter 4 – Page 131 1. The First Arab Victory - 133 a. Resistance Demobilization b. A Disguise of Legitimacy d. The Lost Cause 2. Corresponding Miscalculation – Page 152 a. Israel's New Leadership b. The Result Sheet 3. Evolution in Revolutionary Ideas – Page 167 a. The Manifesto b. Ideological Change? 4. Conclusion – Page 176 Chapter 5 – Page 182 1. The Revolutionary and the Revolutions – Page 184 a. the Ghost of the Past b. Transforming the Nefarious vii 2. Hezbollah in Syria – Page 194 a. The Puppeteer b. Vestiges of Inception c. From the Covert to the Overt 3. The Shia, the Shrine, and the Survival – Page 205 a. The Shia b. The Shrine c. The Survival 4. The Derivative – Page 215 a. Hyper Insurgency b. Indefinite Hemorrhage c. Playing the Great Game Conclusion – Page 223 viii Chapter 1 1. Introduction From the day it was formally created in 1985, Hezbollah based its ideology on absolute animosity towards Israel, uprooting the Lebanese political system, and creating an Islamic theocracy in Lebanon. Although the group evolved tremendously throughout the following decades, Hezbollah continued to regard Israel as the main enemy, and loyalty to the concept of the rule of the jurisprudent ( wilayat al-faqih ) remained at the core of its ideology. And despite the crisis of legitimacy created after the Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000, the leadership justified the group’s attacks with the intention of liberating the disputed Shebaa Farms and freeing Lebanese prisoners held in Israel. Moreover, Hezbollah's official documents and statements, as in the 1985 Open Letter, reiterated its absolute enmity towards Israel. Yet, one can sense a gradual change in the group’s actions and rhetoric and dramatically so after the Syrian revolution began in 2011. As the Arab Spring buffeted several regimes in the Middle East, the winds of change reached Syria – one of two Hezbollah patron-states. The peaceful mass-demonstrations paved the way for civil war that has been raging for more than five years now. The Assad regime nearly collapsed if it was not for Hezbollah, among other actors. Hezbollah presented several pretexts for its intervention in Syria such as fighting Sunni extremists – or takfiris , defending the Syrian Shia, and protecting Shia religious sites; but Hezbollah was already on the ground before it presented any justifications to preserve its interest. Hezbollah’s intervention in Syria is about the survival of the group because whoever controls Syria ultimately has much influence in Lebanon and holds the lifeline for Hezbollah. In this case not only it is unique that an insurgency is supporting a patron-state 1 survives instead of the other way around, but the effects on the former’s ideology can be clearly noticed. Furthermore, it is for the first time that Lebanon is having an influence in Syria not the other way around. This research explains why an insurgency interferes militarily in a patron-state undergoing a civil war and how that interference affects its ideology. More specifically, it explains three potential aspects: first, the military intervention of an insurgency in a patron-state. An insurgency has an aim and it is supported by a patron-state to achieve that aim. Therefore, it seems uncanny that an insurgency will take the role of a supporter instead.