Strategic Assessment

Hizbollah’s new “Manifesto,” announced in late November 2009, is only the second ideological platform published by Hizbollah and was issued twenty-four years after the original “Open Letter,” which was the main tool to present the organization’s weltanschauung to the world over the previous decades. The Manifesto reflects the political and military evolution of the organization since the 1985 Letter and explains the group’s strategic vision for the future. The essay focuses on the political context that prompted Hizbollah to release its new declaration of principles as well as the contents of the document, and draws conclusions on whether the Manifesto marks a true organizational “rebirth.”