5 days ago
Can Hezbollah Transition to a Fully Political Party?
Mounting calls in Lebanon for Hezbollah to hand over its weapons and dissolve its armed wing have reignited debate over whether the party's structure, principles and founding ideology could allow a smooth shift to purely political activity – or whether such a change would require a complete overhaul of the party and a new charter to match the country's shifting landscape.
Founded in 1982, Hezbollah has gone through two major ideological milestones: its 1985 'open letter,' which served as its founding political and religious manifesto, and its 2009 'political document,' an updated vision shaped by regional and domestic changes.
In its early platform, Hezbollah openly called for an Islamic republic in Lebanon, rejected the sectarian political system, pledged allegiance to Iran's supreme leader, and endorsed armed resistance as the only path to confront Israel.
By 2009, the group acknowledged that Lebanon's multi-sectarian fabric made an Islamic state impossible, advocating instead 'consensual democracy' as a transitional step toward abolishing sectarianism, while reaffirming armed resistance in coordination with the army and the people.
Hezbollah entered parliamentary politics in 1992 after the civil war and joined the cabinet in 2005, following the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.
Former MP Fares Souaid, head of the Lady of the Mountain Gathering, said Hezbollah 'does politics in military fatigues,' making it hard to imagine a transformation from what he called 'an Iranian military arm in Lebanon' into a regular political party.
'Hezbollah's presence in parliament and cabinet was to monitor decisions that could hinder its military and security work, not to be fully involved in constitutional politics,' Souaid told Asharq Al-Awsat.
He added that many in the group's Shiite base still view its arsenal as a guarantee, even though dissenting voices have emerged.
Jad al-Akhaoui, head of the Lebanese Democratic Coalition, said Hezbollah's founding principles – rooted in religious ideology and armed struggle under Iran's 'Wilayat al-Faqih' (Guardianship of the Jurist) – are incompatible with the concept of a civilian political party in a democracy.
'If Hezbollah truly wants to become a political party, it must separate religion from the state, abandon its weapons and redefine itself as Lebanese first and foremost, not as a regional proxy,' he told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Al-Akhaoui argued that Hezbollah's political participation has been a means to entrench its position within the state without integrating fully into it, using parliament and cabinet to shield its weapons.
'The party used politics to legitimize its arms, not to reconsider them,' he said, adding that frustration is growing within its Shiite constituency over the economic collapse, international isolation and involvement in wars unrelated to Lebanon.
Political analyst Kassem Kassir, however, said there is no inherent reason why Hezbollah could not become a purely political party.
'Armed resistance was due to Israeli occupation and external circumstances,' he told Asharq Al-Awsat.
'If the occupation ends and the state can defend the people and rebuild, there is no problem with giving up the weapons.'
Kassir said Hezbollah's political track record shows it can mobilize popular support and use politics to serve the community and defend the resistance.
'Today, the continued Israeli occupation and the state's failure to protect its citizens are what keep the arms in place,' he said.
