The Dialectics of Resistance: Lebanese National Identity Formation Through the Prism of Anti-Occupation Struggle, 1978-2000
Abstract
This study explores the formation of Lebanese national identity through anti-occupation resistance from 1978 to 2000, employing historical methodology with a multidisciplinary approach. It examines how resistance shaped Lebanon's collective consciousness, challenged sectarian divisions, and redefined its role regionally and globally. Using a combination of collective memory (Halbwachs), nationalism (Anderson), critical geopolitics (Toal), cultural trauma (Alexander), postcolonial theory (Said and Bhabha), and social movement theory (Tarrow and McAdam), the research analyzes the transformation of fear into resilience and the impact of the 2000 Israeli withdrawal on identity formation. The study highlights the dual nature of resistance culture, both unifying and challenging, and critically examines how shared trauma influences national identity. It addresses generational shifts in perceptions of resistance and focuses on long-term identity implications, offering a forward-looking perspective on Lebanon’s ongoing development. By integrating historical methods with insights from nationalism, social movements, and cultural studies, the research situates Lebanon’s resistance within broader regional and global dynamics, providing insights into asymmetric warfare and the role of non-state actors in international relations.
Keywords
References
Abdelnour, Z. K. (2003). The Lebanese resistance memoir: Culture of resistance vs. culture of victory. Journal of Palestine Studies, 32(4), 90-102.
Alagha, J. E. (2006). The shifts in Hizbullah's ideology: Religious ideology, political ideology, and political program. Amsterdam University Press.
Alexander, J. C. (2004). Toward a theory of cultural trauma. In J. C. Alexander, R. Eyerman, B. Giesen, N. J. Smelser, & P. Sztompka (Eds.), Cultural trauma and collective identity (pp. 1-30). University of California Press.
Anderson, B. (1983). Imagined communities: Reflections on the origin and spread of nationalism. Verso.
Avon, D., & Khatchadourian, A. T. (2012). Hezbollah: A history of the “Party of God.” Harvard University Press.
Bhabha, H. K. (1994). The location of culture. Routledge.
Chaitani, Y. (2007). Post-colonial Syria and Lebanon: The decline of Arab nationalism and the triumph of the state. I.B. Tauris.
Deeb, L. (2003). An enchanted modern: Gender and public piety in Shi'i Lebanon. Princeton University Press.
El-Husseini, R. (2012). Pax Syriana: Elite politics in postwar Lebanon. Syracuse University Press.
Falk, R. (2013). Revolutionizing world order: The right to resistance in a changing international system. Cambridge University Press.
Firro, K. M. (2003). Inventing Lebanon: Nationalism and the state under the mandate. I.B. Tauris.
Hage, G. (2015). Alter-politics: Critical anthropology and the radical imagination. Melbourne University Publishing.
Halbwachs, M. (1950). La mémoire collective. Presses Universitaires de France.
Harb, Z. (2011). Channels of resistance in Lebanon: Liberation propaganda, Hezbollah and the media. I.B. Tauris.
Haugbolle, S. (2010). War and memory in Lebanon. Cambridge University Press.
Human Rights Watch. (1999). Israel/Lebanon: The Israeli-occupied zone. https://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/lebanon/Isrlb997-02.htm
Khalaf, S. (2002). Civil and uncivil violence in Lebanon: A history of the internationalization of the Lebanese civil war. Columbia University Press.
Khalidi, R. (1997). Palestinian identity: The construction of modern national consciousness. Columbia University Press.
Khalili, L. (2007). Heroes and martyrs of Palestine: The politics of national commemoration. Cambridge University Press.
Khashan, H. (2000). Arabs at the crossroads: Political identity and nationalism. University Press of Florida.
Knudsen, A., & Kerr, M. (Eds.). (2012). Lebanon: After the Cedar Revolution. Hurst & Company.
Larkin, C. (2008). Memory and conflict in Lebanon: Remembering and forgetting the past. Routledge.
Makdisi, U. (2000). The culture of sectarianism: Community, history, and violence in nineteenth-century Ottoman Lebanon. University of California Press.
McAdam, D. (1982). Political process and the development of Black insurgency, 1930-1970. University of Chicago Press.
Nora, P. (1989). Between memory and history: Les lieux de mémoire. Representations, 26, 7-24.
Norton, A. R. (2014). Hezbollah: A short history. Princeton University Press.
Nuwayhid, I., Zurayk, H., Yamout, R., & Cortas, C. S. (2011). Summer 2006 war on Lebanon: A lesson in community resilience. Global Public Health, 6(5), 505-519.
Peteet, J. (1991). Gender in crisis: Women and the Palestinian resistance movement. Columbia University Press.
Reinkowski, M. (1997). National identity in Lebanon since 1990. Orient: Deutsche Zeitschrift für Politik und Wirtschaft des Orients, 38(3), 493-515.
Saad-Ghorayeb, A. (2002). Hizbu'llah: Politics and religion. Pluto Press.
Said, E. W. (1978). Orientalism. Pantheon Books.
Salibi, K. (1988). A house of many mansions: The history of Lebanon reconsidered. University of California Press.
Salloukh, B. F., Barakat, R., Al-Habbal, J. S., Khattab, L. W., & Mikaelian, S. (2015). The politics of sectarianism in postwar Lebanon. Pluto Press.
Saouli, A. (2019). Hezbollah: Socialization and its tragic ironies. Edinburgh University Press.
Sayigh, R. (2007). The Palestinians: From peasants to revolutionaries. Zed Books.
Tarrow, S. (1998). Power in movement: Social movements and contentious politics. Cambridge University Press.
Toal, G. (1996). Critical geopolitics: The politics of writing global space. University of Minnesota Press.
Traboulsi, F. (2012). A history of modern Lebanon. Pluto Press
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.24042/jhcc.v5i2.24384
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
Copyright (c) 2024 Habib Badawi
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Jurnal El Tarikh is the Journal of History, Culture,and Islamic Civilization (JHCC) [ISSN:2774-7999 dan e-ISSN: 2774-8723] published by Faculty of Adab, Universitas Islam Negeri Raden Intan Lampung, Indonesia in collaboration with Perkumpulan Prodi Sejarah Se-Indonesia (PPSI) and Asosiasi Program Studi Sejarah Islam Se-Indonesia (APSII)
Office: Faculty of Adab, Universitas Islam Negeri Raden Intan Lampung. Jl. Letkol H. Endro Suratmin, Sukarame, Bandar Lampung, Lampung, Indonesia, KP. 34513. Website: http://ejournal.radenintan.ac.id/index.php/eltarikh, Email: [email protected]
Jurnal El Tarikh is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.