Inside the Middle East:Understanding Violent Nonstate Actors

The study was prepared to emphasize the deficiency in the Middle East and International Relations literature. Upon completion of the prepared course, is aimed to obtain basic knowledge and interpretation level about violent non-state actors in the Middle East. Especially as the tension in the Israel-Palestine Issue increases day by day, those who are directly involved in this issue; focus on Hezbollah in Lebanon and Fatah and HAMAS organizations in Palestine. Another important factor in choosing these actors is that these actors are highly compatible with the concept of violent non-state actors and are the most active movements in the region in terms of activity today. In our course, where we focus on these three actors, there is a section for each actor and two lessons within each of these sections. In the principal part of the training, Hezbollah in Lebanon was discussed. In this context, the emergence process of the Lebanese Hezbollah and its organizational structure along with the ideological foundations of the movement were discussed. In the second part, Fatah, which operates in Palestine (West Bank), was discussed. In this section, the emergence of the Fatah movement was introduced. Then, the political figures who grew up within the movement and their ideological and structural characteristics were focused on. In the last section, the HAMAS movement operating in Palestine (Gaza Strip) was examined within the same framework. The historical roots and action practices of HAMAS were discussed. At the end of the lectures, academic readings on the relevant actors were also shared. It is expected that the contents of the courses will be reinforced with these readings.

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