Militia State: The Rise of Al-Hashd Al- Shaabi and the Eclipse of the Iraqi Nation State

Militia State: The Rise of Al-Hashd Al- Shaabi and the Eclipse of the Iraqi Nation State

Baria Alamuddin
$39.95
Publication Date: September 1st, 2022
Publisher:
Gilgamesh Publishing
ISBN:
9781914325168
Pages:
250

Description

This is the story of how the Iraqi state has been steadily stripped of its sovereignty, identity, and the trappings of statehood by predatory militias, aided and abetted by the Iranian regime. This is the story of the journey from nation-statehood, to militia-statehood.

This book is principally concerned with the Iraqi militia coalition known as Al-Hashd al-Shaabi [the Popular Mobilization Units - PMU]. More broadly, it relates the malign consequences of Tehran’s interference across the Middle East region. The Hashd’s most significant paramilitary forces were armed and mobilized by Iran, and through their actions and objectives, the nature of Iran’s destabilizing agenda towards the region can be better understood.

About the Author

Baria Alamuddin is an award-winning international journalist and broadcaster. She recently received a “Lifetime Achievement Award” from the 2018 Commonwealth Businesswomen Awards; and the 2018 Arab Women of the Year Award, for Achievement in Media, through Regent’s University, London. She is the founder of Media Services Syndicate and has interviewed numerous heads of state including; Margaret Thatcher, Benazir Bhutto, King Hussain of Jordan, Yasser Arafat, and Fidel Castro, to name a few. Baria was the last journalist to interview Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Praise for Militia State: The Rise of Al-Hashd Al- Shaabi and the Eclipse of the Iraqi Nation State

“A distinguishing feature of the last 40 years from Lebanon to Iran has been the displacement of state power and legitimacy by parasitic sectarian actors who enforce their claims to authority through criminality and unchecked violence. The model for this is Khomeinist Iran and its partners in Lebanese Hezbollah. The process has accelerated since 2003 - when the folly of the US and its allies and the degeneration of the Syrian uprising into brutal civil war opened up new territories for Tehran. The rise of the Hashd al Sha’abi in Iraq is the most dramatic expression of this political pathology. Drawing widely on published sources, confidential diplomatic reporting and interviews with many of the key players, the vastly experienced Baria Alamuddin describes this process with chilling immediacy and vivid detail. If you care about the future of the region, read this book.” Sir John Jenkins KCMG LVO