When Militias capture the state: evidence from Lebanon, Iraq, and Sudan

Abstract

ABSTRACTStudies on militias tend to focus on state policies, such as government collusion with militias during counterinsurgencies or post-conflict demobilization programs. This article examines militia strategies vis-à-vis the state, focusing on the case of militias engaged in ‘state capture’ – i.e. the covert and gradual penetration of state institutions aimed to shape public policy. The article provides an overview of key concepts and definitions, proposes a theoretical framework of state capture, and presents three fieldwork-based case studies: Hezbollah in Lebanon, Shia militias in Iraq, and the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan.KEYWORDS: Militiasconflictcivil warelectionsinstitutionsstate capture Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Notes1. See Cohen, ‘Distant Battles’; Kaldor, New and Old Wars.2. Carey, Mitchell, and Lowe, ‘States, the Security Sector, and the Monopoly of Violence’.3. 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Interview code: MSC2021–07 (Iraqi Police official), 17 November 2021, Baghdad.55. Interview code: MSC2021–01 (academic), 14 November 2021, Baghdad. And Interview code: MSC2021–16 (political analyst), 25 November 2021, Baghdad.56. Interview code: MSC2021–18 (academic), 29 November 2021, Baghdad.57. Smith and Knights, ‘Remaking Iraq’.58. Interview code: MSC2021–17 (legal expert), 25 November 2021, Baghdad.59. Interview code: MSC2021–01 (academic), 14 November 2021, Baghdad.60. Interview code: MSC2021–11 (academic), 20 November 2021, Basra.61. Interview code: MSC2021–05 (political analyst), 16 November 2021, Baghdad; Interview code: MSC2021–07 (Iraqi Police official), 17 November 2021, Baghdad.62. Interview code: MSC2021–22 (political analyst), 2 December 2021, Khartoum (online interview).63. Interview code: MSC2021–29 (investigative journalist), 13 December 2021, Khartoum (online interview).64. Manfredi Firmian and Mirghani, ‘Can Sudan’s Democratic Transition Be Salvaged?’.65. Interview code: MSC2021–29 (investigative journalist), 13 December 2021, Khartoum (online interview).66. Interview code: MSC2021–21 (legal expert), 1 December 2021, Khartoum (online interview).67. Interview code: MSC2021–31 (RSF cadre), 14 December 2021, Khartoum (online interview). Interview code: MSC2022–3 (academic), 11 January 2022, Omdurman (online interview).68. Interview code: MSC2022–2 (NGO official), 10 January 2022, Khartoum (online interview).69. Interview code: MSC2021–28 (political analyst), 9 December 2021, Khartoum (online interview).70. International Crisis Group, ‘Reversing Sudan’s Dangerous Coup’.71. Ibid.72. Interview code: MSC2022–4 (political analyst), 12 January 2022, Khartoum (online interview).73. Interview code: MSC2022–8 (academic), 19 September 2022, Khartoum (online interview).Additional informationNotes on contributorsFederico Manfredi FirmianFederico Manfredi Firmian is a lecturer in political science at Sciences Po Paris and an Associate Research Fellow at the Istituto per gli Studi di Politica Internazionale (ISPI). He holds a Ph.D. in Political Geography from the Sorbonne and a Master’s in Public Policy from Harvard. His research focuses on civil war and armed conflict in the greater Middle East region. He has published articles in Survival, Middle East Policy, Asian Affairs, World Policy Journal, the Modern War Institute at West Point, and ISPI.