The challenges of rebuilding Beirut’s southern district of Dahiyeh are significantly more complex than those faced after the 2006 war between Hizballah and Israel, according to research presented in a recent MERIP podcast. Iman Ali, a doctoral candidate in anthropology at Cornell University, detailed the obstacles in her article, “Repair Amid Ongoing Ruination—Rebuilding Dahiyeh Once More,” published in the Winter 2025 issue of Middle East Report.
Ali’s fieldwork focuses on the impact of Israel’s war in the fall of 2024 and the subsequent, almost daily, Israeli drone and missile attacks that have continued since the November 2024 ceasefire agreement. Her research examines the material and political difficulties confronting Lebanon’s Shi’i community. The podcast, recorded February 25, 2026, featured co-host Najib Hourani, an associate professor of anthropology and global urban studies at Michigan State University and a member of MERIP’s editorial team.
Following the 2006 conflict, Hizballah successfully rebuilt Dahiyeh with financial support from regional and global partners, and under the leadership of Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah. Ali’s research indicates a stark contrast today. Financing for reconstruction is not readily available, and Hizballah’s leadership has been weakened. The constant threat of renewed Israeli aggression looms over the rebuilding efforts.
Ali’s broader research, begun in 2021, initially centered on the role of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and its relationship with border communities. After the outbreak of war in 2023, she expanded her focus to encompass the wider South Lebanon region and its interactions with the Lebanese state. Her work examines how the Shia community in South Lebanon has adapted and survived amidst ongoing violence.
The research project, titled “South Lebanon: A Frontier Between State, Empire, and Everyday Precarity,” investigates the intersection of Lebanon’s postcolonial state-building with the influence of the United States, mediated through Israel. Ali’s work specifically focuses on the lived experiences of the Shia community, historically marginalized within Lebanon and systematically targeted by Israel. She is an affiliated researcher at the Orient-Institut, with an email address of ia222@cornell.edu.
Prior to her doctoral studies at Cornell, Ali earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, where her undergraduate thesis explored the experiences of recently resettled Syrian refugee women within decentralized resettlement organizations and the Arab-American community in Michigan. She also worked as a research associate at the University of Michigan’s Medical School, applying social science research skills to projects aimed at improving patient care.
Further research cited alongside Ali’s work includes studies by Hiba Bou Akar, Tamara Chalabi, Lara Deeb, Mona Fawaz, Mona Harb, Najib B. Hourani, Munira Khayyat, and Salim Nasr, covering topics ranging from urban interventions and Shi’i history to the roots of the Shi’i movement and the crisis of Lebanese capitalism.
