In recent decades, militias and sub-national armed groups have played a decisive role in politics and security in the MENA region. Their prominence with local and outside actors in areas where state institutions have collapsed presents multiple policy challenges. Armed groups have access to substantial resources and in some cases enjoy considerable local legitimacy. That makes them formidable but also resilient forces. This is why their suppression – through coercive measures or marginalization – can bring more costs than benefits to already fragile state institutions and exhausted populations. This volume addresses the void in the current debate on subnational armed groups, focusing particularly on the multiple ongoing conflicts and turmoil in the MENA region. It places a particular emphasis on whether armed groups can be integrated into state-building initiatives and whether they can play a constructive role with other key actors.

This Report was produced in collaboration with the Brookings Doha Center.

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Table of Contents

Preface

John R. Allen, Giampiero Massolo

1. The Past, Present & Future of Militias

Ranj Alaaldin

2. Case Studies

   Hezbollah: The Superior Militia

   Mohanad Hage Ali

   Janus in the Land of the Two Rivers: What Role for Militias in Iraq?

   Andrea Plebani

   Conflict Resolution in Libya: How To Deal with Militias?

   Federica Saini Fasanotti, Arturo Varvelli

   Hamas and the “Hezbollah Model” in the Gaza Strip

   Giuseppe Dentice

   Fragmentation and Multiple Political Orders in Yemen

   Maria-Louise Clausen

3. Armed Non-State Actors: Human Security and the Challenges to Civil Society

Hafsa Halawa

4. The Vulnerable Class and Support for Violence in the Arab World

Raj M. Desai, Tarik M. Yousef

5. Warlords and Western Policy

Daniel Byman, Israa Saber

Conclusions

Federica Saini Fasanotti, Arturo Varvelli