The Awakening Movement: A Narrative-level Study of Mobilization

Allen Newton

Small Wars and Insurgencies, 2017, vol. 28, issue 2, 267-290

Abstract: This essay analyzes the link between mobilization and tribalism that developed in the Anbar Awakening. The Anbar Awakening exposed the Anbari tribal structure as a deeply entrenched and complex network deployed to mobilize support and generate behavior that would achieve the most advantageous strategy and position in a fight against al-Qaeda. Although this description supports David Kilcullen’s tribal society model, the rules of the Awakening movement that restored the tribal network were hardly explored by counter-insurgents for value and opportunity. The essay therefore draws on narratives from Anbari sheikhs to analyze the properties of tribalism (culture, identity, and problem-solving) as a non-linear social network, and demonstrates a paradigm in which mobilization of Anbari tribesmen is a valid indicator of security. The link between mobilization and tribalism in the Anbar Awakening therefore strategically develops to intervene in social life and address security locally.

Date: 2017
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DOI: 10.1080/09592318.2016.1233641

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