What future for Iraq’s PMU?

What future for Iraq’s PMU? PDF Author: Mona Alami
Publisher: King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies (KFCRIS)
ISBN: 6038206736
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 30

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Book Description
The Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units has recently completed its transformation from a loose coalition of militant group groups to a semi-state actor, entrenched in Iraqi state institutions thanks to the large victory of a number of its leaders in the recent Iraqi elections under the label of the Fateh Coalition. The PMU emerged in 2014 when it conglomerated a number of substrate armed groups under the banner of the Hashd al-Shaabi at the behest of the prime minister, Nouri Maliki Al-Maliki and after a call by the country’s highest Shiite cleric, Ayatollah Ali Sistani, to fight the escalating terror of the so-called caliphate. The emergence of this new non-state armed actor in a country was sectarian rivalries are historically high and where power centers are traditionally weak triggered a large debate within the think tank world, with many experts labeling the PMU as an Iranian proxy. However, this report will show that while a segment of the PMU falls within Iran’s larger regional security program, a Hezbollization as a whole of the PMU will represent a challenge for Iran due to local Iraqi dynamics, the financial and ideological independence and new-found pragmatism shown by influential Iraqi figures and the competition within the pro-Iran militant groups. Based on a series of interviews with PMU commanders in Iraq and local and international experts, this report will look at the evolution of the PMU and the impact of its integration within the state apparatus.

What future for Iraq’s PMU?

What future for Iraq’s PMU? PDF Author: Mona Alami
Publisher: King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies (KFCRIS)
ISBN: 6038206736
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 30

Get Book Here

Book Description
The Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units has recently completed its transformation from a loose coalition of militant group groups to a semi-state actor, entrenched in Iraqi state institutions thanks to the large victory of a number of its leaders in the recent Iraqi elections under the label of the Fateh Coalition. The PMU emerged in 2014 when it conglomerated a number of substrate armed groups under the banner of the Hashd al-Shaabi at the behest of the prime minister, Nouri Maliki Al-Maliki and after a call by the country’s highest Shiite cleric, Ayatollah Ali Sistani, to fight the escalating terror of the so-called caliphate. The emergence of this new non-state armed actor in a country was sectarian rivalries are historically high and where power centers are traditionally weak triggered a large debate within the think tank world, with many experts labeling the PMU as an Iranian proxy. However, this report will show that while a segment of the PMU falls within Iran’s larger regional security program, a Hezbollization as a whole of the PMU will represent a challenge for Iran due to local Iraqi dynamics, the financial and ideological independence and new-found pragmatism shown by influential Iraqi figures and the competition within the pro-Iran militant groups. Based on a series of interviews with PMU commanders in Iraq and local and international experts, this report will look at the evolution of the PMU and the impact of its integration within the state apparatus.

No Way Home: Iraq’s minorities on the verge of disappearance

No Way Home: Iraq’s minorities on the verge of disappearance PDF Author: William Spencer
Publisher: Minority Rights Group
ISBN: 1907919813
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 68

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Book Description
No Way Home: Iraq’s minorities on the verge of disappearance seeks to document the situation of Iraq’s ethnic and religious minorities most affected by the violence that escalated after the fall of Mosul in June 2014. It is a follow-up report to Between the Millstones: The State of Iraq’s Minorities since the Fall of Mosul, published in March 2015. Since June 2014, many thousands of persons belonging to minorities have been murdered, maimed or abducted, including unknown numbers of women and girls forced into marriage or sexual enslavement. ISIS forces and commanders have committed war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of genocide, including summary executions, killing, mutilation, rape, sexual violence, torture, cruel treatment, the use and recruitment of children, outrages on personal dignity, and the use of chemical weapons. Cultural and religious heritage dating back centuries continues to be destroyed, while property and possessions have been systematically looted. These abuses are ongoing at the time of writing and appear to be part of a conscious attempt to eradicate Iraq’s religious and ethnic diversity. It should also be stressed that as the latest phase in the conflict reaches a two-year benchmark, forces fighting ISIS have also apparently committed human rights and international humanitarian law violations, including Iraqi Security Forces, Popular Mobilization Units and Kurdish Peshmerga. The millions of displaced still remain in camps, and there are no serious returns to areas retaken from ISIS. As of March 2016, internal displacement exceeded 3.3 million. Iraqi sources estimate the total number of those who have lost their homes and are internally displaced at more than 4 million, factoring in those IDPs not registered. Currently, there appears to be no serious Iraqi or international effort to build the political, social and economic conditions for the sustainable return of those who lost homes and livelihoods as a result of the conflict. Militias and unscrupulous local authorities are exploiting this vacuum. This report is called ‘No Way Home’ to highlight the despair Iraqi ethnic and religious communities feel about prospects for return. This perspective is rooted both in a sense of hopelessness about the prospect of return and frustration with the continued deterioration of humanitarian conditions. There is a lack of trust that the government, regional actors, local officials or the international community will provide the necessary support to facilitate returns, locate missing persons, provide justice, facilitate the difficult process of reconciliation and ensure the return of looted possessions and homes. The result will be another Iraqi lost generation, radicalized by homelessness and depredation, repeating the cycle that created ISIS.

Hybrid Actors

Hybrid Actors PDF Author: Thanassis Cambanis
Publisher: Century Foundation Press
ISBN: 9780870785597
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 192

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Book Description
Influential armed groups continue to confound policymakers, diplomats, and analysts decades after their transformational arrival on the scene in the Middle East and North Africa. The most effective of these militias can most usefully be understood as hybrid actors, which simultaneously work through, with, and against the state. This joint report from The Century Foundation identifies the factors that make some hybrid actors persistent and successful, as measured by longevity, influence, and ability to project power militarily as well as politically. It finds that three factors correlate most closely with impact: constituent loyalty, resilient state relationships, and coherent ideology. The authors of this report examined cases in Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq, drawing on years of fieldwork, to distinguish hybrid actors, classic nonstate proxies, and aspirants to statehood--all of which merit different analytical and policy treatment. The report demonstrates the ways that groups can shift along a spectrum as they adapt to changing conditions.

Iran’s Networks of Influence in the Middle East

Iran’s Networks of Influence in the Middle East PDF Author: The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS)
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000163040
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 225

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Book Description
Tehran’s ability to fight by, with and through third parties in foreign jurisdictions has become a valuable and effective sovereign capability that gives Iran strategic advantage in the region. Tehran has possessed a form of this capability since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, but its potency and significance have risen sharply in the past decade, to the point where it has brought Iran more regional influence and status than either its nuclear or ballistic-missile programmes. The IISS Strategic Dossier Iran’s Networks of Influence provides an understanding of how Iran builds, operates and uses this capability. Based on original field research, open-source information and interviews with a range of sources, the dossier conducts an audit of Iran’s activities in the principal regional theatres of Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen, and its reach into Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. It includes an examination of Tehran’s nurturing of groups such as the Houthis in Yemen, the Badr Organisation in Iraq, Hizbullah in Lebanon and Shia militias in Syria, and details related to recruitment, weapons supply, logistics and command-and-control systems. Iran’s Networks of Influence is intended through objective, fact-based analysis to inform both policymakers and practitioners, and to stimulate debate on the wider significance of Iran’s use of third-party partners and the strategic depth they afford Tehran. The dossier also examines the advantages that Iran possesses through its recent experience of conflict, and its ability to mobilise and deploy sympathetic Shia communities across theatres. In a time of rising tension in the region, the dossier looks at how Iran might further develop the use of its partnership capability and the risks and constraints it might face.

Between the millstones

Between the millstones PDF Author:
Publisher: Minority Rights Group
ISBN: 1907919589
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 48

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Book Description
Since June 2014, the rapid spread of ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and al Sham) forces across northern Iraq has triggered a wave of displacement, with more than 2 million people uprooted. Ethnic and religious minorities have been particularly targeted, including Christians, Kaka’i, Shabak, Turkmen and Yezidis, with thousands killed and many more injured or abducted. Summary executions, forced conversion, rape, sexual enslavement, the destruction of places of worship, the abduction of children, the looting of property and other severe human rights abuses have been committed repeatedly by ISIS. This report, Between the Millstones: The State of Iraq’s Minorities Since the Fall of Mosul, draws on extensive interviews, fieldwork and research to document the plight of Iraq’s minorities since June 2014. While minorities have long been vulnerable to attacks by extremists, this violence appears to be part of a systematic strategy to remove these communities permanently from areas where they have lived for centuries. The current situation for the millions of displaced persons in Iraq, many of whom belong to minority groups, is characterized by deteriorating humanitarian conditions. Many are without adequate food, water, health care, shelter and other necessities, with women and children especially vulnerable. With little support or protection, many Iraqis from minorities are now contemplating a life permanently outside the country. To ensure their continued presence in Iraq, authorities and other stakeholders must not only ensure their immediate protection, but also promote a more inclusive future for minorities in Iraq.

Iraq After ISIS

Iraq After ISIS PDF Author: Jacob Eriksson
Publisher: Palgrave Pivot
ISBN: 9783030009540
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This book explores the challenges of creating a secure and stable Iraq in the wake of the military campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS). Analyzing the impact of the fight against ISIS, the collection provides answers to questions relating to both political and humanitarian considerations in Iraqi post-war recovery. In their analysis, the editors and authors develop policy recommendations for the international and Iraqi political communities. It is essential reading for those interested in politics, international relations, post-war recovery, counter-terrorism, Middle Eastern studies and Iraqi studies scholars.

The World Bank's Experience with Post-conflict Reconstruction

The World Bank's Experience with Post-conflict Reconstruction PDF Author:
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 9780821342909
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 124

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Book Description
Clearing landmines, rehabilitating and integrating of excombatants, rebuilding the infrastructure, coordinating aid sources—these are just some of the issues confronting the Bank in post-conflict reconstruction. The explosion of civil conflicts in the post-Cold War world has tested the World Bank's ability to address unprecedented devastation of human and social capital.This study covers post-conflict reconstruction in nine countries, assessing relevant, recent Bank experience. It also presents case-studies for ongoing and future operations, which analyze: 1. the Bank's main strengths or comparative advantages; 2. its partnership with other donors, international organizations, and NGOs; 3. its role in reconstruction strategy and damage and needs assessment; 4. its role in rebuilding the economy and institutions of governance; 5. its management of resources and processes; 6. implications for monitoring and evaluation.

Conflicts, Pandemics and Peacebuilding

Conflicts, Pandemics and Peacebuilding PDF Author: Andrea Cellino
Publisher: Ledizioni
ISBN: 8855263935
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 87

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Book Description
The Covid-19 pandemic is not only a health challenge. In the MENA region, against the backdrop of protracted conflicts, instability, and an overall deterioration in socio-economic conditions, the coronavirus crisis adds another layer of vulnerability and has already had long-lasting repercussions on human security across the region. Moreover, as hybrid actors take on an important role as security providers amid the pandemic in a context of limited or absent oversight, risks associated to a lack of accountability, ethno-religious discrimination, human rights abuses, and gender-based violence grow. While classical approaches to security provision tend to portray non-state actors and the State as inherently at odds, the complexity of a rapidly evolving security landscape throughout the region should trigger a revision of the very concept of effective governance. Against this backdrop, how should Security Sector Reform (SSR) strategies and programmes adapt? What lessons can be drawn from selected case studies such as Iraq, Libya, and Yemen?

Measuring Vulnerability to Natural Hazards

Measuring Vulnerability to Natural Hazards PDF Author: Birkmann
Publisher: The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI)
ISBN: 9788179931226
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 582

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Book Description
Measuring Vulnerability to Natural Hazards presents a broad range of current approaches to measuring vulnerability. It provides a comprehensive overview of different concepts at the global, regional, national, and local levels, and explores various schools of thought. More than 40 distinguished academics and practitioners analyse quantitative and qualitative approaches, and examine their strengths and limitations. This book contains concrete experiences and examples from Africa, Asia, the Americas and Europe to illustrate the theoretical analyses.The authors provide answers to some of the key questions on how to measure vulnerability and they draw attention to issues with insufficient coverage, such as the environmental and institutional dimensions of vulnerability and methods to combine different methodologies.This book is a unique compilation of state-of-the-art vulnerability assessment and is essential reading for academics, students, policy makers, practitioners, and anybody else interested in understanding the fundamentals of measuring vulnerability. It is a critical review that provides important conclusions which can serve as an orientation for future research towards more disaster resilient communities.

State-Building in the Middle East and North Africa

State-Building in the Middle East and North Africa PDF Author: Mohammad-Mahmoud Ould Mohamedou
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0755601424
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 297

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Book Description
Why have state-building projects across the MENA region proven to be so difficult for so long? Following the end of the Ottoman Empire in the early 1920s, the countries of the region began a violent and divisive process of state formation. But a century later, state-building remains inconclusive. This book traces the emergence and evolution of state-building across the MENA region and identifies the main factors that impeded its success: the slow end of the Ottoman Empire; the experience of colonialism; and the rise of nationalistic and religious movements. The authors reveal the ways in which the post-colonial state proved itself authoritarian and formed on the model of the colonial state. They also identify the nationalist and Islamist movements that competed for political leadership across the nascent systems, enabling the military to establish a grip on the security apparatus and national economies. Finally, in the context of the Arab Spring and its conflict-filled aftermath, this book shows how external powers reasserted their interventionism. In outlining the reasons why regional states remained hollow and devoid of legitimacy, each of the contributors shows that recent conflicts and crises are deeply connected to the foundational period of one century ago. Edited by Mohammad-Mahmoud Ould Mohamedou, the volume features contributions by stellar scholars including Faleh Abdel Jabar, Lisa Anderson, Bertrand Badie, François Burgat, Benoit Challand, Ahmad Khalidi, Henry Laurens, Bruce Rutherford, Jordi Tejel and Ghassan Salamé.