1、THE TIES THAT BIND:FAMILIES,CLANS,AND HIZBALLAHSMILITARY EFFECTIVENESSMICHAEL EISENSTADT AND KENDALL BIANCHIDECEMBER 15,2017COMMENTARYA recent article in a pro-Hizballah media site tells the“Story of Two Martyrs,”Ibrahim and Ahmad Shihab,cousinswho grew up together in the town of Baraachit in southe
2、rn Lebanon.The two were close and went on“jihad”togetherin June 2016,fighting in the“same trench”in Syria.They were killed in action shortly thereafter,along with anotherlifelong friend from their hometown who was also a member of the extended Shihab clan.The story of the two cousins and their frien
3、dship sheds light on the workings of organizations like Hizballah,which hasmorphed from a shadowy underground resistance movement and communal militia into a large,quasi-regular militaryforce.In many cases,members belong to the same family or clan,or are close friends.Indeed,thisis true of many local and foreign militias that have participated in Syrias civil war.These social solidarities maycontribute to the effectiveness of these militias,as well as organizations like Hizballah,whose institutional DNA still bearsthe imprint of its militia origins.
