Details

Israel is increasingly surrounded by areas of limited statehood where, to varying degrees, central authorities compete for security, as well as political, economic, and ideational power with a range of armed non-state governors.

Some of these non-state governors constitute established, highly institutionalized quasi-states, whereas others are looser, more diffuse actors. Some are engaged in an active insurgency against the host state, whereas others operate in limited areas or have achieved some kind of symbiotic relationship with the weak host state, but still; act independently from it.

Whereas non-state governors like Hezbollah, HAMAS and Kurdish groups have been part of the regional mosaic for decades, new players have proliferated across large parts of North Africa and the Middle East – most notably in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, Sinai, Sudan, Libya, and the Sahel region – particularly since the advent of the “Arab Spring” three years ago.

This reality is rapidly transforming the security and geopolitical topography of the region, yet it is doing so in ways that are still poorly conceptualized, let alone clearly understood.

Against this background, the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT) at IDC, Herzliya and the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) Israel Office will convene a specialized workshop titled: Areas of Limited Statehood and Armed Non-State Governors: Exploring the Terrorism-Governance Nexus. The workshop will convene an expert group of scholars and practitioners for a structured brain storming exercise on the terrorism-governance nexus.

The workshop will be held at the IDC, Herzliya campus, starting with a public lecture event on the evening of the 11th of February 2014, and continuing in a round-table discussion format on the 12th and 13th of February. It will be conducted in English.