Iraq's Shi'a Warriors - (Identities and Geopolitics in the Middle East) by Inna Rudolf (Hardcover)

About the Book

This book explores how Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Units have evolved from battlefield actors into powerful political and social stakeholders, crafting legitimacy across Iraq's political, religious, and civic spheres. It challenges the proxy warfare narrative, offering a nuanced analysis of their complex, locally rooted identity and domestic ambitions.

Book Synopsis

By examining the PMU's self-positioning as a pillar of Iraq's defence infrastructure, this book offers a critical perspective on the prospects for Security Sector Reform (SSR) and highlights the limitations of externally driven Disarmament, Demobilisation, and Reintegration (DDR) efforts. It speaks to scholars of Iraq and the Middle East, as well as diplomats, security actors, and SSR practitioners. The book is also a valuable teaching resource for undergraduate and postgraduate courses on conflict, security, identity politics, terrorism, and peacebuilding. Its unique fieldwork methodology offers guidance for researchers engaging with armed non-state and para-state actors in post-conflict settings. Altogether, the book addresses a strong academic and policy demand for evidence-based analysis of the PMU's complex identity - offering a flexible framework for studying hybrid security actors with transnational connections and domestic ambitions.

From the Back Cover

Celebrated by Iraqis for their contribution to the war against the Islamic State, Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Units (PMU), also known as al-Hashd al-Sha'bi, now regard themselves as entitled to co-shaping not only the government decision-making process, but also the very nature of Iraqi statehood. Recognised as a state-sanctioned paramilitary umbrella since November 2016, the PMU has translated its contributions on the frontlines into political leverage. Trading their uniforms for tailored suits, PMU figures contested the May 2018 elections, which brought many of the paramilitary's loyalists into Iraq's parliament. Despite their comparatively poor performance at the ballot box in 2021, those rebranded militants captured lucrative ministerial portfolios and have remained key power brokers. Their continued sway over Iraq's contested state and institutions raises the question of how such a broad array of hybrid auxiliary forces has consolidated its position and reaped the benefits of alliance with the country's ruling elites.
To provide an answer, this book examines how the PMU and their affiliates have worked to generate legitimacy within Iraq's political, religious and civic fields. In doing so, the author highlights the agency of state-allied auxiliary forces, which, regardless of domestic or foreign backing, often pursue independent strategies grounded in local interests. In light of the crumbling Axis of Resistance - marked by Hamas October 7 attacks, Assad's downfall in Syria, and the weakening of Iranian allies like Lebanon's Hezbollah - this book shows how even the hardline PMU factions have come to value alignment with a state-sanctioned entity bearing stronger patriotic credentials.

About the Author

Inna Rudolf is a Senior Research Fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR) and a postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Divided Societies in the Department of War Studies, King's College London