From the conflict between the United States and the Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Syria to the recent Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, events in today’s Middle East reflect the emergence of what has come to be known as an Iran-led ‚axis of resistance.‘ A geopolitical network of state- and nonstate actors seeking to promote a new regional order, the ‚axis‘ primarily includes the Lebanese Hezbollah, Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Yemen’s Houthi rebels, Syria, and multiple Iran-supported Shiite militias in Iraq. Drawing on qualitative in-depth research in Hebrew and Arabic, and on exclusive interviews with senior Israeli officials,
Axis of Resistance offers the first comprehensive analysis of the evolution of the ‚axis‘ and its application of a distinct strategic approach to asymmetrical conflicts—that of “resistance.” Author Daniel Sobelman shows that the various ‚resistance‘ forces in the region have pursued an analogous asymmetrical deterrent strategy whose origins trace back to the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in southern Lebanon, whereby the weaker actor attempts to subject the stronger state to limiting ‚rules of the game.‘
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. The Emergence of a Resistance Community and Strategy
2. The Logic of Asymmetric Rules of the Game
3. Hezbollah versus Israel in Southern Lebanon
4. Hamas versus Israel in the Gaza Strip
5. The Houthis versus Saudi Arabia in Yemen
6. Iran versus Israel (and the United States) in the Syrian Arena
Conclusion and Discussion
Afterword
Notes
References
Index
Über den Autor
Daniel Sobelman is Assistant Professor of International Relations at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s International Relations Department, a former Arab affairs correspondent for the Israeli daily
Haaretz, and a Research Fellow with Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.