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Daniel L. Byman

State of play

The most potent of all the armed non-state actors in West Asia, Hezbollah, is undergoing deep convulsions. The international footprint of the Lebanese Hezbollah, which fought the battle-hardened Israeli army to a standstill in the first decade of the millennium, has certainly grown. But conversely, the militant group is weaker domestically today than it was at any point over the past decade.

Virulence, violence

Targeting and demonising political opponents, while it does not change attitudes, does embolden individuals to express, and act on, pre-existing views they had once hidden. The results are there for all to see in West Bengal.