How do the norms of the liberal international order affect the activity of Islamist movements? This book analyzes and assesses the extent to which Islamist groups, which have traditionally attempted to shield their communities from “alien” moral conceptions, have been affected by the rules and principles that regulate international society. Through an analysis of Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Filippo Dionigi concludes that international norms are among the most significant factors changing Islamist politics. The result is a precarious but innovative equilibrium in which Islamists are forced to rethink idea of an allegedly “authentic” Islamic morality and the legitimacy of international norms.

Shows that the influence of international norms on Islamist politics goes beyond the surface of occasional and instrumental norm-conformist behavior by Islamist actors Argues that international norms have a significant role in shaping patterns toward an international society in which persons can be valued by the sole virtue of their humanity and communities are respected as fundamental sources of individual well-being Uses the case of Lebanon’s Hezbollah to draw attention to how this Islamist movement has become more cognizant of the moral cogency of the norms of international society