BETWEEN ISLAM AND THE SYSTEM - SOURCES AND IMPLICATIONS OF POPULAR SUPPORT FOR LEBANON HIZBALLAH

This study tests whether a hypothesis explaining popular support for M iddle Eastern fundamentalist movements adequately describes the grassr oots appeal of Hizballah, Lebanon's radical Shiite organization. Using 1993 survey data, the study found that Hizballah adherents were less likely than expected to be deeply religious, to have a low socioeconom ic status, and to have a strong political alienation. Results suggest that Hizballah is not the vehicle of radical Shiites and that other fa ctors underlie its organizational growth and encourage its evolution a s a mainstream party. The study also suggests that constraints imposed on Islamic goals by Lebanon's pluralist society and its powerful neig hbor Syria have influenced the moderate trend of Hizballah. The study concludes that Islamist success in carving a niche in a community stil l seeking self-identity and adequate national representation means tha t Islamists are unlikely to lose external backers' support should Midd le East peace negotiations reduce Hizballah's resistance role.