{
"authors": [
"Yezid Sayigh",
"Eleonora Ardemagni"
],
"type": "other",
"centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
"centers": [
"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center"
],
"collections": [
"Civil-Military Relations in Arab States"
],
"englishNewsletterAll": "menaTransitions",
"nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
"primaryCenter": "Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center",
"programAffiliation": "MEP",
"programs": [
"Middle East"
],
"projects": [],
"regions": [
"Gulf",
"Levant",
"Yemen",
"Lebanon",
"Syria",
"Iraq",
"Middle East"
],
"topics": [
"Political Reform",
"Security"
]
}
Source: Getty
The hybridization of security governance in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen leaves them with forms of sovereignty that are both constrained and constantly contested.
Source: Italian Institute for International Political Studies
Defense and security sectors in the Arab states have been undergoing significant, and sometimes radical, transformation as a result of local rebellions and civil wars, state crisis and fracturing, and external intervention since the start of the 21st century. In Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen, unfamiliar and fluid coalitions of national armed forces (or their remnants) and armed non-state actors are increasingly engaged in complex patterns of de-confliction, coexistence, and cooperation embedded within a wider context of persistent competition among them and of geopolitical rivalry between an array of external backers. A joint effort of the Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI) and the Program on Civil-Military Relations in Arab States (CMRAS) of the Carnegie Middle East Center, this dossier explores how the resulting hybridization of security governance in these countries leaves them with forms of sovereignty that are both constrained and constantly contested.
Hybridizing Security: Armies, Militias and Constrained Sovereignty, Yezid Sayigh, Carnegie Middle East Center
The Lebanese Armed Forces and Hezbollah: Military Dualism in Post-War Lebanon, Aram Nerguizian, Carnegie Middle East Center
Legacies of Survival: Syria's Uncomfortable Security Hybridity, Abdulla M. Erfan, Geneva Centre for Security Policy
The Osmotic Path: The PMU and The Iraqi State, Riccardo Redaelli, Catholic University of Milan
Patchwork Security: The New Face of Yemen’s Hybridity, Eleonora Ardemagni, ISPI
Armies, Militias and (Re)-Integration in Fractured States, Frederic Wehrey, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Senior Fellow, Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center
Yezid Sayigh is a senior fellow at the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, where he leads the program on Civil-Military Relations in Arab States (CMRAS). His work focuses on the comparative political and economic roles of Arab armed forces, the impact of war on states and societies, the politics of postconflict reconstruction and security sector transformation in Arab transitions, and authoritarian resurgence.
Eleonora Ardemagni
Carnegie India does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
After the chill in ties between 2020 and 2024 that brought India–China relations to their lowest point in several decades, the two countries have engaged each other afresh. This paper argues that there are predominantly four imperatives guiding India’s approach to China, and they exist in an order of priority.
Saheb Singh Chadha
This piece argues that the present Indian strategy, based on opportunistic diversification and utilization of limited strategic reserves, remains inadequate when confronting supply disruptions. It evaluates India’s options in the short, medium, and long terms.
Vrinda Sahai
This piece examines India’s response to U.S. sanctions and tariffs, specifically assessing the immediate market consequences, such as alterations in import costs, and the broader strategic implications for India’s energy security and foreign policy orientation.
Vrinda Sahai
The India-Pakistan conflict that played out between May 6 and May 10, 2025, offers several military lessons. This article presents key takeaways from Operation Sindoor and breaks down how India’s preparations shaped the outcome and what more is needed to strengthen future readiness.
Dinakar Peri
This book offers a comprehensive analysis of India's evolving relationship with sovereignty in a complex global order. Moving beyond conventional narratives, it examines how the sovereignty principle shapes India's behavior across four critical domains—from traditional military power to contemporary data governance.
Rudra Chaudhuri, Nabarun Roy