Publication

This paper analyzes political violence in Lebanon with a focus on the Shi’a community. The first part considers the historical context since the creation of the Lebanese state in 1920. Then it outlines various acts of political violence in which the Shi’a were implicated from 1974 to the early 1990s. The paper emphasizes the role of violence in structuring the cohesion and dynamics of the Lebanese Shi’a as a social group. It furthermore addresses the phenomenon of violence itself as a means of reviving the past of the Shi’a community and of mobilizing its members. The author concludes with an analysis of the evolution of the Shi’a movement during the period of reconstruction of the Lebanese state since the end of the war in 1990.