Hizbullah-land? Branding religio-politico identity in Dahiya

Abstract

This article explores Hizbullah’s attempts to negotiate its double identity as both a religious resistance group and a Lebanese nationalist movement in Dahiya in the southern suburbs of Beirut. By reading Dahiya through the lens of literature on promotion and branding as well as Lefebvre’s spatial triad of perceived, conceived and lived spaces, the article examines how Dahiya’s physical landscape and the choreographed lived experiences within it both serve to promote Hizbullah’s distinct religious resistance identity. Finally, the article argues that these same places and spaces serve to emphasise the Party’s Lebanese identity because Dahiya is also presented as an extension of Beirut, by mimicking the spatial dynamics and practices of the nation’s capital. In order to support these ideas, I will examine Dahiya from 2016 until the present day. © 2019, © 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.