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.
Table of Contents
John R. Allen, Giampiero Massolo
1. The Past, Present & Future of Militias
Ranj Alaaldin
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
Federica Saini Fasanotti, Arturo Varvelli
