Hizb'Allah in Lebanon: The Politics of the Western Hostage CrisisThe abduction of Western citizens by Hizb'Allah was motivated either by internal organisational requirements or in alignment with Syrian and Iranian interests, and mechanisms for the resolution of the hostage-crisis were subject to continuous interaction between Hizb'Allah, Iran, and Syria influenced by internal Lebanese, regional, and international events. The Western responses to the hostage-crisis showed limited effectiveness as the crisis management techniques were poorly adjusted in timing and direction to the actual crisis environment. With the exception of the French response, the overall employment of Western crisis management techniques showed disregard for the opportunities and constraints in the fluctuating relationship between Syria and Iran as well as the political environment within Lebanon which the Hizb'allah operates and exists. This was clear by their failure to rely on either Iran or Syria as the only channel in negotiations over hostages without regard to their individual ability to exert its influence over the Lebanese movement in accordance with shifts in their ties to Hizb'allah's command leadership between 1987-1991 and to the status of the Iranian-Syrian relationship over time, as displayed by the friction between 1986-92. This study provides a new approach in the study of terrorism by merging a case-study of the dynamics of the Lebanese hostage-crisis with an evaluation of Western responses through crisis management techniques in order to more closely resolve the dilemma of the fulfilment of these states' duty to protect their citizens taken hostage abroad, without major sacrifices in the conduct of foreign policy. |
Contents
1 | |
2 Background to the Formation of the Hizballah in Lebanon | 25 |
3 Hizballah and the HostageCrisis Within Lebanon | 60 |
4 The Influence of the IranianSyrian Relationship on the Hizballah | 110 |
5 Western Responses to the HostageCrisis and Crisis Management | 134 |
Other editions - View all
Hizb'Allah in Lebanon: The Politics of the Western Hostage Crisis M. Ranstorp No preview available - 1997 |
Hizb'allah in Lebanon: The Politics of the Western Hostage Crisis Magnus Ranstorp No preview available - 1997 |
Hizb'Allah in Lebanon: The Politics of the Western Hostage Crisis M. Ranstorp No preview available - 1996 |
Common terms and phrases
Abbas al-Musawi abduction of foreigners agenda al-Da'wa al-Musawi al-Nahar American hostages April Arab August Ayatollah Khomeini Beirut British clerical factionalism close concessions confrontation crisis crisis-management December diplomatic efforts environment February foreign hostages foreign policy Foreign Report Ha'aretz Hizb'allah activity Hizb'allah and Iran Hizb'allah leaders Hizb'allah members Hizb'allah's command leadership hostage-crisis in Lebanon hostage-issue hostage-taking activity ideological influence International involvement Iran and Syria Iran-Contra affair Iran-Iraq war Iran's clerical establishment Iranian clerical Iranian Pasdaran Iranian-Syrian Iraq IRGC Islamic Amal Islamic Republic Israel Israeli January Jerusalem kidnapping Kuwait Le Nouvel Observateur Lebanese Shi'a Majlis al-Shura March Martin Kramer ment Merari Middle East Mohtashemi Muhammad Najaf negotiations notably November official operations organisation pan-Islamic Pasdaran political position pressure radical regional relations relationship with Iran response revolutionary Sheikh Sheikh al-Tufayli Sheikh Fadlallah Sheikh Nasserallah Shi'a community Shi'ite southern Lebanon terrorism terrorist Terry Waite tion U.S. government U.S.-Iranian underlined Western governments Western hostages