Non-State Armed Actors in the Middle East

Part I. Non-State Armed Actors in the Middle East: A Conceptual and Analytical Framework

1. Introduction: The Phenomenon of Non-state Armed Actors and Patterns of Violent Geopolitics in the Middle East
Murat Yeşiltaş, Tuncay Kardaş

2. The Transformation of the Regional Order and Non-state Armed Actors: Pathways to the Empowerment
Şaban Kardaş

Part II. The Ethno-Secular Geopolitical Space in the Middle East

3. Understanding “Foreign Policy” of the PYD/YPG as a Non-State Actor in Syria and Beyond
Berkan Öğür, Zana Baykal

4. The Kurdish Fight Against ISIS: Realizing the Virtual Kurdistan Through Factionalized Politics in a Fragmented Homeland
Galip Dalay

5. Global Politics of Image and the Making of a Legitimate Non-state Armed Actor: Syrian Kurds and ‘The Secular West’ in Kobane
Tuncay Kardaş, Murat Yeşiltaş

Part III. The Rise of Sacred Political Space in the Middle East

6. Path to Become a State: From Jama’at Al-Tawhid Wal-Jihad to the Islamic State
Ömer Behram Özdemir, Recep Tayyip Gürler

7. The New Middle East, ISIL and the 6th Revolt Against the West
Murat Yeşiltaş, Tuncay Kardaş

8. An Influential Non-state Armed Actor in the Iraqi Context: Al-Hashd Al-Shaabi and the Implications of its Rising Influence
Bilgay Duman, Göktuğ Sönmez

Part IV. New Methods in Old Bottles: The Strategy of Non-State Armed Actors in the Middle East

9. Operationalizing the Vision of Building a New Caliphate: From Al-Qaeda to the Islamic State (IS)
Farhad Rezaei

10. The Making of European Foreign Fighters: Identity, Social Media and Virtual Radicalization
Tuncay Kardaş, Ömer Behram Özdemir

11. What the ISIS Crisis Means for the Future of the Middle East
Burak Kadercan

12. Conclusion: The State of the Non-state Armed Actors in the Middle East
Murat Yeşiltaş, Tuncay Kardaş

Keywords: Political Science and International Relations, Terrorism and Political Violence, Middle Eastern Politics, Military and Defence Studies, Conflict Studies, Human Rights, International Organization