Hezbollah and the Irish Republican Army: A Comparative Cultural Analysis
type: CreativeWork
description: Hezbollah is a terrorist group that threatens to destabilize the Middle East. The international community has considered many proposals and initiatives to affect the disarmament of Hezbollah and to encourage its participation in a political process aimed at resolving its stated concerns. Among these proposals, it has been suggested that the roadmap used to achieve the disarmament and political integration of the IRA could be applied to the Hezbollah case. This thesis argues that, while there are similarities between the IRA and Hezbollah that would make applying the IRA model an attractive option, a cultural comparison taking into account the role of Political Traditions, Experience, Values, Classical Texts, Defense Concepts, Economic Resources, Technological Base, and Generational Issues shows that applying this model would probably not be successful. Instead, to be successful, new approaches must be found that incorporate broad cultural understanding of these issues.
abstract: Hezbollah is a terrorist group that threatens to destabilize the Middle East. The international community has considered many proposals and initiatives to affect the disarmament of Hezbollah and to encourage its participation in a political process aimed at resolving its stated concerns. Among these proposals, it has been suggested that the roadmap used to achieve the disarmament and political integration of the IRA could be applied to the Hezbollah case. This thesis argues that, while there are similarities between the IRA and Hezbollah that would make applying the IRA model an attractive option, a cultural comparison taking into account the role of Political Traditions, Experience, Values, Classical Texts, Defense Concepts, Economic Resources, Technological Base, and Generational Issues shows that applying this model would probably not be successful. Instead, to be successful, new approaches must be found that incorporate broad cultural understanding of these issues.
author: Martin, Shayne Lee
keywords: Hezbollah, Irish Republican Army, strategic culture, culture, violent non-state actor, Defense and Security Studies
date published: 2013-05-01T07:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T03:16:23Z
provider: Missouri State University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Missouri State University