ISPI MED Dossier edited by Eleonora Ardemagni

Ten years after the Arab uprisings, Arab armies are in a state of flux. They played a pivotal role in shaping post-2011 political outcomes and, today, the military is even more influential in crafting power relations. However, the fracturing — or de facto crises — many Arab states have experienced also affects, and sometimes reduces, their role, prompting military forces to re-invent themselves in the current security hybridization age.

Does hybridity still represent an effective analytical lens? What about “re-generated military forces” instead? Which trajectory can be identified for good governance, counterinsurgency, and military education? How do securitization and coup-proofing work in hybrid orders? Complementing previous studies on non-state and hybrid forces, this Dossier explores how Arab armies are navigating a less army-centred security environment.

Beyond Hybridity: Making Sense of Re-Generated Military Forces | Eleonora Ardemagni, ISPI and Catholic University of Milan

Guns, Not Reforms: The Securitization of Post-2011 Middle East Political Orders | Erwin van Veen, Clingendael

Hybrid Security and Coup-Proofing in the Arab World | Ranj Alaaldin, The Brookings Institution and Ariel I. Ahram, Virginia Tech

Deep Maghreb: Striking a Balance Between Terrorist and Hybrid Threats | Umberto Profazio, IISS

Lessons From Post-2011 Trajectories in Tunisia and Libya | Andrea Cellino and Roberta Maggi, DCAF

Military Education in the Arab States: Rising Interest but Same Approaches | Jean-Loup Samaan, National University of Singapore

From History to the Hybrid Battlefield: Three Lessons on COIN | John R. Allen, President, The Brookings Institution and Federica Saini Fasanotti, The Brookings Institution and ISPI