Speaker: Dr Raphael Marcus, Visiting Research Fellow, War Studies

Discussant: Prof Sir Lawrence Freedman, War Studies

Chair: Prof David Betz, War Studies

Location: Council Room, Strand

Wine Reception to Follow

 

The new book Israel's Long War with Hezbollah is the first complete military history of the decades-long Israel-Hezbollah conflict and an analysis of military innovation and adaptation. Raphael D. Marcus examines the conflict since the formation of Hezbollah during Israel's occupation of Lebanon in the early 1980s. He critically evaluates events including Israel's long counterguerrilla campaign throughout the 1990s, the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000, the 2006 summer war, and concludes with an assessment of current tensions on the border between Israel and Lebanon related to the Syrian civil war.

The book is based on unique fieldwork in Israel and Lebanon, extensive research into Hebrew and Arabic primary sources, and dozens of interviews conducted with Israeli defense officials, high-ranking military officers of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), United Nations personnel, a Hezbollah official, and Western diplomats. As an expert on organizational learning, Marcus analyzes ongoing processes of strategic and operational innovation and adaptation by both the IDF and Hezbollah throughout the long guerrilla conflict. His conclusions illuminate the dynamics of the ongoing conflict and illustrate the complexity of military adaptation under fire.

This event will be chaired by Prof David Betz. Following Marcus’s lecture, Prof Sir Lawrence Freedman will act as the discussant and offer his insights. A wine reception will follow.

  

Raphael D. Marcus is a Visiting Research Fellow in the Department of War Studies  at King's College London, where he received his PhD.  He is also affiliated with the College's Insurgency Research Group, where his research interests include Middle East security issues, terrorism, military affairs, and organizational learning.