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SUMMARY:Syria and the Sons of Kerbala: Critically comparing the Syrian pol
 icies of Hezbollah and the Sadrist Movement - Mike Clark (Darwin College\,
  University of Cambridge)
DTSTART:20140218T131000Z
DTEND:20140218T140000Z
UID:TALK50202@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Dr Katherine Bowers
DESCRIPTION:It has often been assumed that the Iraqi Sadrist Movement is\,
  to all intents and purposes\, a replica of the Lebanese Hezbollah. This i
 s a consequence of the assertion that the Sadrist Movement is following th
 e so-called “Hezbollah model”. Notwithstanding that this model remains
  largely unexplored\, the assertion is ostensibly based on the “guns and
  butter” strategy common to both parties\, namely the provision of both 
 social and security services where the state is weak or absent. It also al
 ludes to a number of other shared traits and the widely noted genealogical
  and contemporary links.\n\nHowever\, with the advent of the Syrian Civil 
 War\, the weaknesses in this position have been revealed. A striking diver
 gence can be seen between the policies of these two groups towards the con
 flict\; whilst Hezbollah has thrown its full weight behind Assad's regime\
 , the Sadrist Movement has been openly critical of Hezbollah and other mil
 itias for such interference and has sought to maintain a largely isolation
 ist position.\n\nFocusing particularly on the Syrian case study\, this pap
 er unpacks the analogy drawn between the Lebanese Hezbollah and the Iraqi 
 Sadrist Movement and highlights its weaknesses. It advances the argument t
 hat there are a number of compelling reasons to be critical of the asserti
 on that the Sadrist Movement is following the “Hezbollah model”\, not 
 least the striking differences in political ideology and identity.
LOCATION:The Richard King Room\, Darwin College
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