The psychological warfare of Hezbollah. (c2012)

Abstract

Psychological warfare is dissimilar to military warfare that has direct, immediate effects. It is resistance that employs nonviolent means, and which focuses on a domestic, neutral and enemy audience. Military and Non-Military confrontations have existed between Hezbollah and Israel since 1982. Given that the military balance between Hezbollah and Israel favored Israel, this study attempted to show how the psychological warfare launched by Hezbollah against Israel has influenced Israel‘s actions in Lebanon since 1982. This article argued that although Hezbollah had a number of resources like organizational discipline and sophisticated media, its ability to influence Israel‘s actions in Lebanon through its psychological war was strengthened when it managed to defeat Israel in its war over Lebanon in 2006. The 2006 War had given Hezbollah‘s psychological war a boost. This study argued that it is not only the result of the war that had created deterrence but the ability of Hezbollah to incorporate what happened during the war in its psychological war against Israel. Hence, this thesis proved how the psychological warfare of Hezbollah against Israel enhanced Hezbollah‘s deterrence ability and had pushed Israel to take Hezbollah‘s threats more seriously. Hezbollah‘s psychological warfare strategies were investigated within the period of 1982 until 2011 by examining the groups‘ different enemy (government and public) audiences. The thesis examined the factors that allowed Hezbollah to have a successful psychological war. These factors were the discipline that exists among the organization of Hezbollah, a sophisticated media that was able to transmit its military strength, and the power of Hezbollah‘s social services in recovering from previous and any upcoming war. These factors proved how it was not important what Hezbollah really had, but its value according to its enemy was big due to the ability of Hezbollah to send a precise message. This thesis explored the effect of the 2006 Psychological War launched by Hezbollah against Israel and emphasized on how this war had affected the Israeli audience and how Hezbollah had used the result of the war to strength it psychological war against Israel.