Fragile States: the Birthplace of Non-State Armed Groups in West Asia

Due to both internal and external factors, Western Asia has long been suffering from security problems and political instability. The institution of various military and militia groups in the region in the absence of powerful central governments is the focal point of the crises, where the internal and external factors meet. The development of such security and military interactions outside the sovereignty framework paves the way for foreign interventions, making the region unstable in the long run. Working at times as proxy agents, these groups take action in the absence of a powerful stable central government in short term, and set the ground for sustained unrest, dispersion and the development of irresponsible armed groups in long term. These groups proliferate when the central governments lack the necessary persuasive power or have lost the ability to manage crises and to exercise exclusive power for reasons such as lack of effective military power, disagreement over the quality of interaction with opposition groups, losing the monopoly of military power, the intervention of regional or transboundary powers, high financial and organizing abilities of the militia, etc. This article is based on the hypothesis that the development and continuous growth of non-state armed groups stems from various internal and external reasons, causing crisis in countries and security environments. The most crucial way out of this crisis is empowering the central government through national cohesiveness, general consensus, and the exclusive practice of hard power based on the law.