Iran’s resistance doctrine: Beyond the hybrid warfare paradigm

This article challenges the dominant use of the hybrid warfare paradigm in analyzing Iranian strategy, arguing that it remains descriptively useful but analytically insufficient. Drawing on primary sources from Iranian, Lebanese, and Syrian actors, it reconstructs an internally coherent resistance doctrine that integrates ideology, strategy, and long-duration conflict. The analysis demonstrates that observable practices commonly labeled as hybrid or asymmetric warfare are better understood as the operational expression of this doctrine. Through case studies across the Levant, the article shows how endurance, calibrated escalation, and systemic integration shape behavior, offering a more accurate explanatory framework for understanding Iranian strategic conduct.