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4 - The 2006 Lebanon War

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 September 2019

May Darwich
Affiliation:
University of Birmingham
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Summary

Chapter 4 examines Saudi and Syrian threat perceptions during the 2006 Lebanon War. The Saudi Kingdom, portraying itself as the primary supporter of the Arab cause against Israel, blamed and condemned Hezbollah for instigating the conflict. The chapter examines the question of why a non-state actor with limited capabilities, located far from the Saudi borders came to be perceived as a threat. Syria, a regime oppressing Islamist movements at the domestic level, supported Hezbollah, within the security calculus which perceived Israel as the ultimate threat. Whereas Hezbollah constituted a source of identity instability for the Saudi Kingdom and, hence, endangered its ontological security, Israel’s military supremacy constituted the primary source of danger to the physical security of the Syrian regime. In this situation, the alliance with Hezbollah became crucial for the Syrian regime, whose leaders capitalised on Hezbollah’s popularity by including some Islamic elements in the regime identity narratives. The chapter argues that this variation is related to the fluidity of identity of Saudi and Syrian regimes and their policy options in facing material sources of threats.

Type
Chapter
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Threats and Alliances in the Middle East
Saudi and Syrian Policies in a Turbulent Region
, pp. 92 - 129
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2019

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  • The 2006 Lebanon War
  • May Darwich, University of Birmingham
  • Book: Threats and Alliances in the Middle East
  • Online publication: 09 September 2019
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108656689.005
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  • The 2006 Lebanon War
  • May Darwich, University of Birmingham
  • Book: Threats and Alliances in the Middle East
  • Online publication: 09 September 2019
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108656689.005
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • The 2006 Lebanon War
  • May Darwich, University of Birmingham
  • Book: Threats and Alliances in the Middle East
  • Online publication: 09 September 2019
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108656689.005
Available formats
×