Parution : Mireille Rebeiz, Hezbollah in International Law, Edinburgh University Press, 2025
Hezbollah in International Law
Mireille Rebeiz
Examines the legal status of Hezbollah as a State or a non-State actor
- Examines the definition of a State and theories of statehood recognition in the context of Global South and failed States
- Considers Hezbollah as a State, armed non-State actor, or quasi-State
- Evaluates Lebanon’s responsibility for complicity in the actions of a State (Iran) and a non-State actor (Hezbollah)
- Outlines the legal consequences of these various legal statuses on international humanitarian law
- Ranges across the assassination of Prime Minister Rafic Hariri in 2005, the 2006 armed conflict with Israel, the war in Gaza and the Syrian civil war
In the context of the 2005 attack that killed Prime Minister Rafic Hariri, the 2006 war with Israel, the 2008 internal armed conflict in Lebanon, the Syrian civil war and the current war in Gaza, this book studies the legal status of Hezbollah as a State or a non-State actor. There are important consequences to this distinction, ones that relate to international law, the qualification of an armed conflict and combatants as well as Lebanon’s responsibilities toward the international community for complicity in the wrongdoings of a State (Iran) and a non-State actor (Hezbollah).
After exploring Hezbollah’s history and domestic law, the book argues that Lebanon legalised Hezbollah as an armed group and political party, and while Hezbollah acts at times as the State of Lebanon, it cannot be considered a State and subject of international law as it lacks State elements. As an alternative, Mireille Rebeiz proposes to adopt the theory of quasi-State, where a failed State co-exists with a non-State actor and shares its sovereignty. Following the 7th October attacks and the ongoing conflict with Israel, the question of the legal status of Hezbollah remains valid today.
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OpenEdition vous propose de citer ce billet de la manière suivante :
Chargé de diffusion scientifique (23 décembre 2025). Parution : Mireille Rebeiz, Hezbollah in International Law, Edinburgh University Press, 2025. IISMM. Consulté le 17 février 2026 à l’adresse https://doi.org/10.58079/15esw

