Rebel Groups between Adaptation and Ideological Continuity: The Impact of Sustained Political Participation

Abstract

The question of how involvement in institutional politics and governance affects rebel groups’ behaviour is pertinent when studying violent non-state actors, both during and in the aftermath of conflict. This is especially the case when participation in the political system becomes sustained over time. The interactions between the political and governance practices of a rebel group and its overall ideological orientation and state-building aspirations are not sufficiently analysed in the literature, especially in the context of hybrid armed-political organizations operating in latent, frozen or protracted conflicts. This article aims to begin to fill this gap by examining how involvement in institutional politics has shaped both Hamas’s and Hezbollah’s branding, interpretation and reliance on their own constitutive ideological manifestos, with an emphasis on both organizations’ dynamic processes aimed at reconciling political participation with their previous ideological rejection of the legitimacy of the political system and their constitutive calls to dramatically restructure the political order. Based on these detailed accounts, this article reflects on how the complex relationship between politics, electoral competition, governance and ideological principles can shape an armed group’s political identity.

Transforming State Visions: Ideology and Ideas in Armed Groups Turned Political Parties – Introduction to Special Issue

“…Hence, it is necessary to move beyond viewing ideology as primarily a unifying mobilizational tool within movements and between movements and those they claim to represent in order to rationalize their existence (Knight 2006). As Benedetta Berti (2019) notes, ideology also serves to present the image of what constitutes a ‘good society’ and of the chief means of constructing it.…”

“…It also suggests that factors other than electoral success help explain why and how some parties undergo significant rebranding while others do not. The case studies by Berti (2019), Sindre (2019), Sprenkels (2019) and Mimmi Söderberg Kovacs (2019) shed further light on the mechanisms that underpin ideological adaptation following entry into electoral politics.…”

“…Also focusing on identity-based movements, Berti’s (2019) contribution outlines a different logic of ideological adaptation tracing the discourse and shifts in the programmes and profiles of Hamas and Hezbollah over time. Ideological continuity and coherence in terms of issue profiles and discourse are important to retain legitimacy both internally and among voters.…”

“…Usually, scholars will analyse the political vocabulary of a movement as a sign of its identity and beliefs. This includes the study of political manifestos, programmes, and/or declarations and political speeches (Berti 2019; Burihabwa and Curtis 2019; Sindre 2019, all in this issue; Aalen 2019; Pearce 2018; Reyntjens 2016; Straus 2015), the analysis of party name changes (Ishiyama 2019) or interviews with group leaders and/or members (Özçelik 2019; Pearce 2018). Scholars also study the discourses through which ideology is both constituted and spread.…”

The role of social media in promoting political participation: The Lebanon experience

“…Twitter is a type of social media platform that influences political change through the formation of public opinion, it has the feature of hashtags (Bode & Dalrymple 2016, Berti 2019. The hashtag involves three forces at once, which localize the topic, focus the topic, and make it present within an easy internet-based search system.…”