Ambiguities within the existing legislation meant to strengthen the state-actor character of the PMU have left a loophole, allowing the PMU to take on multiple roles, benefiting equally from the established operational legality, and acclaimed ideological legitimacy.
• The lines are blurred and the allegiances – at least those that have been verbally professed thus far – are prone to shift according to the target audience and the immediate operational advantages pursued by the groups’ cannier political forerunners.
• Regardless of any potential electoral gains PMU-affiliated leaders have been able to achieve to this point within and outside the established Fatah alliance, the PMU as an umbrella organisation requires the firm institutional embrace of the Iraqi authorities.
• With Islamic State regrouping slowly in the background, the Hashd needs to gradually develop into a disciplined and agile state organisation.
• This transformation process, alongside continued security sector reforms in a fragile yet hopeful democracy, will take time. It will also require a high level of manoeuvrability on behalf of Iraq’s future government, its frequently competing neighbours, and its foreign allies.
From Battlefield to Ballot Box: Contextualising the Rise and Evolution of Iraq’s PMU
Bookmarks