This thesis will approach the topic of “rebel governance” in “failed states” . It will critically examine the idea of the state using new approaches to question the traditional Western analysis of...Show moreThis thesis will approach the topic of “rebel governance” in “failed states” . It will critically examine the idea of the state using new approaches to question the traditional Western analysis of statehood. Seeing the defunct nature of statehood applied in the modern world where so many new “states” diverge from the ideal, this thesis will place its focus on the action of governance.In particular the aspect of governance between the state and society and how the two evolve and affect each other.Show less
In the international system, ISIS and Hezbollah are non-state actors involved in the power struggle characterizing the Middle East, and they found themselves opposed in the Syrian Civil War since...Show moreIn the international system, ISIS and Hezbollah are non-state actors involved in the power struggle characterizing the Middle East, and they found themselves opposed in the Syrian Civil War since 2011. Although they are different by virtue of their confessional identity, they share multiple similarities. Both are the product of the international intervention in Iraq/Syria and Lebanon; both share, until recently, a powerful military apparatus as well as a functional organizational system; both are recognised as terrorist or criminal organization by part of the international community. They share another characteristic too: the pursuit of the Islamic State, a utopia rooted in the teachings of the Qu’ran and Mohammad that calls for the demise of the Western-type of state in the Middle East. Nevertheless, their ideals of Islamic State are essentially different, and different are their historical and political contexts as well as their ideological motivations. One group has declared the Islamic State whereas the other has not. This work aims to unravel under what conditions non-state armed groups claim territorial sovereignty. Consequently, ISIS and Hezbollah are two cases subjected to deep analysis. Building on the concept of rebel governance, I argue that rebel’s strategies are affected respectively by the place and time-frame but mostly by the group’s relationship with the population, other armed groups, and the international community. Notwithstanding, ideology is still the building block of the rebel’s approach. I sustain that historical and political developments have structured the actors’ ideologies which in turn have affected their approaches and consequently the self-determination claim. The difference in the outputs then lies in the ideological and socio-political divide between ISIS and Hezbollah. The contrasting developments of these groups, which replied differently to national and international menaces, and their different regional priorities, as well as their distant ideas of Islamic State, allow us to understand what led to the creation of the “Islamic State of Iraq and Syria” and the “Party of God”. Inter alia, how the refusal of any compromise and the creation of a new Sunni identity rejecting the nation-state favoured the self-determination, whereas the entry into politics to gain resilience from a plethora of confessional realities has suggested the suspension of the Islamic State.Show less
