Hezbollah’s Communication Strategy: Emotional Appeals for Cohesion and Resistance

Abstract

While research has traditionally linked resistance to negative emotions like anger and frustration, a growing body of work now emphasises the importance of positive emotions such as trust and hope. This article analyses Hezbollah’s speeches from 2001 to 2023, focusing on anger and trust while incorporating positive and negative affect. Using quantitative methods to detect emotions and affect in natural language, our findings reveal that positive affect – often overlooked in resistance studies – is expressed most frequently, followed by trust, negativity and anger. Positivity and trust appear in discussions of Hezbollah’s in-group and ideology (Islam), while negativity and anger surface in discourse on violent resistance and regional security. These findings challenge Western media portrayals that associate Hezbollah with hate and negativity, suggesting that Hezbollah uses positivity and trust to reinforce cohesion, while leveraging negativity and anger to rally support for resistance activities.