tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15447402.post115392360109708966..comments2023-09-18T02:20:14.674-07:00Comments on Pith and Substance: AlternativesPithLordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03856231065567376894noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15447402.post-1154042638036642462006-07-27T16:23:00.000-07:002006-07-27T16:23:00.000-07:00Thinking about Hezbollah as the vanguard force in ...<I>Thinking about Hezbollah as the vanguard force in World War III is not going to work.</I><BR/><BR/>On that we agree.<BR/><BR/>And point well taken on the blurring of ethnic and religious. Still, Hezbollah is pretty clear in its self definition (and name) that it is fighing for a religious vision of society (however warped that vision might be).MSShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14199636437911986505noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15447402.post-1153964272255801542006-07-26T18:37:00.000-07:002006-07-26T18:37:00.000-07:00Matthew,I agree with what you are saying. Party mi...Matthew,<BR/><BR/>I agree with what you are saying. Party militias are not good for democracy. But the question is how do Lebanese politicians move from Angola to El Salvador, and what can the outside world do to help? Thinking about Hezbollah as the vanguard force in World War III is not going to work.<BR/><BR/>As for whether Shi'ite Lebanese are an ethnic or religious group, these categories are pretty blurry. From what I understand from friends who know Lebanese politics much better than I do, secularized, even atheist Lebanese think of themselves as Shi'ite, Sunni, Druze, Christian, etc. All your relatives are likely to be in the co-religionist group. There may be a further imaginative identification with Shi'ites in Iran or elsewhere, but that's different. That's not unusual for ethnic identification as Northern Ireland or Yugoslavia show.PithLordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03856231065567376894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15447402.post-1153961351293568972006-07-26T17:49:00.000-07:002006-07-26T17:49:00.000-07:00It is certainly true that there are some (though n...It is certainly true that there are some (though not many successful) transitions to democracy that involve <I>ex</I>-insurgents. But I would be hard pressed to name any in which the insurgents were allowed to participate in electoral and parliamentary politics while keeping their arms, and in which things did not unravel fairly quickly.<BR/><BR/>El Salvador is a pretty good example of successful disarmament and conversion into a major political party.<BR/><BR/>Angola is a good (or bad) example of breakdown when elections were held without the insurgents disarming.<BR/><BR/>Lebanon is a really extreme version of "Angola" and far, far from being an "El Salvador."<BR/><BR/>(Also, the post appears to refer to Shi'ism as an ethnicity. Presumably, you did not mean to say that, or I am misunderstanding you.)MSShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14199636437911986505noreply@blogger.com