Department of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies
Subject: Between Baabda and Dahieh: The Presidency and Hezbollah - Rivalry, Cooperation and Sovereignty in Lebanon (1992-2022)
Advisor: Prof. Elie Podeh and Prof. Asher Kaufman
Abstract: My research examines the relations between the institution of Lebanese presidency and the Hizballah organization since the first parliamentary elections to take place in Lebanon after the end of the civil war (1992) and to the present day. This issue shall be used as a case study offering an alternative explanation to the prevailing approach highlighting the weakness of the Lebanese state, its lack of stateness and its inability to impose sovereignty. By doing so, the research does not seek to claim that Lebanon is not a weak state, or that its government enjoys a sufficient degree of sovereignty in accordance with Western models, but rather to examine the Lebanese case on its own whilst paying attention to the unique characteristics and historical circumstences that led to its shaping. This shall be followed by the presentation of a unique hybrid system of distribution of power within which the state and non-state actors interwine and cooperate with one another.
Bio: Eitan Ishai is a PhD candidate at the Department of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies and recipient of the Nathan Rotenstreich Scholarship. He holds both Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Islamic and Middle Eastern studies from the Hebrew University. He held the position of manger of the Middle Eastern and Islamic Association of Israel (MEISAI) and coordinator of the "New East" (Ha-Mizrah He-Hadash) Journal. His interests includes political and social history of modern Lebanon, focusing on questions of memory, stateness, sovereignty and hegemony. His research examines the relations between the institution of Lebanese presidency and the Hizballah organization since the first parliamentary elections to take place in Lebanon after the end of the civil war (1992) and to the present day. This issue shall be used as a case study offering an alternative explanation to the prevailing approach highlighting the weakness of the Lebanese state, its lack of stateness and its inability to impose sovereignty. By doing so, the research does not seek to claim that Lebanon is not a weak state, or that its government enjoys a sufficient degree of sovereignty in accordance with Western models, but rather to examine the Lebanese case on its own whilst paying attention to the unique characteristics and historical circumstences that led to its shaping. This shall be followed by the presentation of a unique hybrid system of distribution of power within which the state and non-state actors interwine and cooperate with one another.
Rotenshtreich Scholarship 2020/21