This paper examines Hezbollah in the wake of the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990) and looks deeper into some of the major historical events that might have led to the emergence and the continued existence of the organization, specifically the signing of the Taif Agreement in 1989. The agreement led to a stronger Syrian presence in Lebanon, an important ally for Hezbollah empowering the organization even further, whilst all other Lebanese fractions were still heavily affected by the deadly civil war. In addition to support from Iran and benefitting from the continued Israeli occupation of large areas in south Lebanon, Hezbollah managed to create a strong popular base for its activities using social services filling a vacuum left by the state. Using Joel Migdal’s “state-in-society” theory, this paper tries to examine the relationship between Hezbollah and the Lebanese state, in order to understand whether the Taif Agreement was the crucial point in history that led to the development of Hezbollah from being a resistance movement, to one of the most important non-state actors in the Middle East.