Abstract
This paper empirically examines the internal and external roles of the popular mobilization forces (PMF) or al-Hashd al-Shaabi. First, the paper examines the PMF’s role in the fight against the Islamic State/Daesh and governance in Iraq. Second, it highlights the PMF’s external links with Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps and Lebanon’s Hezbollah. The question of whether the PMF is a tool of expanding Iran’s influence and interventionism across the region is thoroughly scrutinized. The paper examines the role of the PMF in increasing the level of sectarianism and paves the way for protracted social conflict in the region. Rising sectarianism offers a fertile breeding ground for Sunni extremism and radicalism, and lethal anti-Shiaism; feeding into a vicious cycle of sectarian violence. These conditions may shape the genesis of protracted regional social conflict between the two main branches of Islam. Key words: Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), Islam, conflict.
Highlights
This paper examines the internal and external roles of the predominately Shia 1 Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF)/al-Hashd al-Shaabi in Iraqi and regional politics
This paper examined the roles of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) or al-Hashd al-Shaabi, as a sub-state actor, in Iraqi and regional politics
The main findings of the paper can be summarized as follows: (1) The PMF has been playing an important role in the counter-Islamic State (IS)/Daesh fight
Summary
This paper examines the internal and external roles of the predominately Shia 1 Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF)/al-Hashd al-Shaabi in Iraqi and regional politics. In order to do so, the paper draws on the literature concerned with the role of sub-state actors in world politics. Sub-state actors are establishing themselves at domestic as well as international levels. There is a growing body of literature that addresses the engagement of sub-state actors in the international arena (McGrew 2011; Jian, 2005; Peter, 2011). In order to address the research question, the paper is structured into three sections. The author, first, explains how the PMF was established and describes its structure. The PMF‟s role in the fight against the Islamic
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