BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Talks.cam//talks.cam.ac.uk//
X-WR-CALNAME:Talks.cam
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Reconciling ‘extremist ideals’ with ‘mundane politics’: Is
 lamic jurisprudence and teleological discourse in Hezbollah’s quiescent 
 resistance - Mike Clark
DTSTART:20130212T131000Z
DTEND:20130212T140000Z
UID:TALK42431@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Xinyi Liu
DESCRIPTION:Having assumed a dominant role in Lebanese politics\, and in l
 ight of events in Syria\, the politics of Hezbollah are once again under t
 he spotlight. Jihadi discourse notwithstanding\, since the 2000 Israeli wi
 thdrawal\, Hezbollah’s muqawama (resistance) against global and local op
 pression has been more rhetorical than active\, a trend which has become i
 ncreasingly normalised since the 2006 War. In this talk\, I explain how He
 zbollah has developed a non-confrontational foreign policy stance\, despit
 e its apparent existential commitment to active resistance against the for
 ces of neo-Liberal\, Zionist oppression. \n\nI present three contextual fa
 ctors which assuage the apparent dissonance between 'extremist ideals' and
  'mundane politics'. Firstly\, through an analysis of the party’s repres
 entation of regional and global politics\, an implicit rationale justifyin
 g conflict avoidance in external relations can be clearly discerned. This 
 may be found in the teleological aspect to the party’s ideological repre
 sentation of global politics\, through which the  maintenance and cultivat
 ion of the factors necessary for long-term survival override otherwise see
 mingly paramount (short-term) interests such as liberating more land or co
 mbating US and Israeli designs. In short\, existence supplants resistance 
 as the party’s primary motivating interest. Secondly\, it is contended t
 hat this profoundly teleological narrative works within the context of a c
 ore maxim of Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh)\, which has been demonstrated to
  have been adopted by the party in other areas of its policy making and wh
 ich stipulates that one should ‘avoid harm before advancing interests’
 \, a fact that grants us insight into the cognitive predisposition of Hezb
 ollah policy makers. Finally\, the impact of the Shi’i practice of taqiy
 ya\, or permitted ‘hypocrisy’ for the greater good\, on decision makin
 g is examined. It is contended that\, whilst Hezbollah’s declarations of
  resistance to US and Israeli oppression take place within a context of ta
 ’bi’a (activism)\, the quiescent approach to foreign policy acts towar
 ds these actors can be understood within the context of taqiyya. \n\nThe f
 indings from this analysis ultimately suggest that\, Hezbollah’s evident
  engagement with realpolitik notwithstanding\, the key to understanding th
 e riddle of the party's politics remains in its ideological hinterland.\n
LOCATION:The Richard King Room\, Darwin College
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR