The Impact of Formal Military Militias on the Democratic Transition Process in Post-2014 Iraq

One of the ways to Democratization process by Military Forces. In this study, we identify and deepen the impact and influence of the non-state armed groups on the democratization process in deep-divided societies such as the Iraqi society. At the beginning of the paper, we look at the Kurdish force (Peshmerga) and Shia armed groups (Popular Mobilization Forces – PMF) and assess their legal basis from the Iraqi Post-2003 constitution. Then the role these groups will play in strengthening and supporting a democratic transition also will be discussed in detail. The main question in our research is to determine the role these mentioned armed groups will play in Post-2014 Iraq, how they will contribute to preserving political stability, and also which position they will take in the democratic transition process. In this descriptive study, we used the analytical approach to analyze the role of militias in Iraq and the legal approach to explain the constitutional and legal articles that make these military forces regular forces alongside the forces of the Iraqi Ministry of Defence. This research finds that militias have a negative role in democratic transition, and countries must strive to dismantle these forces if they are not characterized as constitutional


Introduction
Legitimacy is one of the most important fundamentals for building a state and maintaining its existence. In constitutional studies, three approaches such as legacy, forces, and elections, can be seen to analyze the relationships between the state (as a center of authority) and legitimacy (as a legal authority). This study will test a particular understanding of legitimacy: using forces to build democracy in unstable societies. There is Here, we try to combine and adding between two ideas: The democratic Transition and the Soldier. It is worth noting that what distinguishes this study is: the attempt to find outlets Positive for the role of the soldier in a non-regular military institution such as militias. There is another study conducted by the )Geneva International Centre for Justice) The title (Militias in Iraq, The hidden face of terrorism), Focuses on the reason behind the emergence of this large group of militia and believes that the: occupation of Iraq and the dismantling of its military, security, and internal systems by the temporary occupation authority, is a major reason for the emergence of these militias in abundance, this idea needs a deep reading because we find that the nature of Iraqi society was the nature of Military and has historical roots, and these militias existed before, but they did not possess political power, the fundamental difference is the dealings of the leaders of these impact society positively and negatively as an official force.

Method
The paper is a descriptive-analytical study of the role and impact of formal militia military institutions in unstable societies, including Iraq. The law approach has been used as an appropriate method for these studies.
Especially there are a lot of constitutional and legal articles issued by the legislative authority in Iraq that needed explanation and carried lots of criticism.

Military Militia
To define concepts abstractly, we will evaluate militias as irregular and regular forces and non-state actors. Armed individuals or groups not members of the regular armed forces, police, or other internal security  it. Another non-state actor with international legitimacy and support is the Kurdistan Region, the most prominent example. The Peshmerga forces were an influential ally throughout the group's war on terrorism, in addition to its legal cover represented by the Iraqi constitution of 2005.
After defining the last two terms, we can define a military militia as a force that perceives itself as protecting a specific political, ethnic, tribal, religious, or family group from harm because the state is unable or unwilling to fill gaps. Militias serve as local guardians, intervening to provide political power or public safety 5 A militia is an armed sub-state organization that includes security and governance within a state. A militia's primary goal is the control of the population, particularly establishing local rule in a specific territory. It can be founded or co-opted by states and insurgent groups or emerge as a rival to both 6 . Furthermore, militias may be supported by international and regional powers, so an important question arises: what is the cost of using militias to resolve internal and international conflicts versus regular state force? For example, in Iraq, he backed pro-Iranian and anti-American militias in their fight against terrorism or the American presence, confirming the legitimacy of these militias from both an internal and international standpoint; otherwise, international actors like Iran and America would not have dealt with them.

Democratization Process
Democratic transformation refers to the transition from authoritarian rule to democratic rule. The application of democratic governments in civil state departments and institutions, or the extension of these applications to include previously unrepresented individuals and subjects; thus, It confirms the existence of a set of conditions that aid in the success of the democratic transition process, which can be summarized as follows 10 : 7 D. Nadhm Al-shmari, "Ishkaliat Al-tahawl Al-democraty fi Al-buldan Alarabia," University of Mustansaria 39 (2012)  Strengthening the values of tolerance, acceptance of the other, coexistence, and faith in dialogue to understand and reject difference.
− The recognition of the right to differ and acceptance of pluralism in its broadest sense. − Understanding the dangers of political tyranny and rejecting it. − The existence of a political culture believes in everyone's natural participation and the right to peaceful power circulation.
With the presence of active forces that believe in democracy and work for its realization, as well as the availability of an appropriate level of political stability, this study is referred to the concept of democratic transition in the post-collapse phase of the authoritarian regime and the emergence of democratic foundations as a starting point for its consolidation in the state and society.

The Legal Basis of the Military Forces in Iraq
This section will focus on the constitutional and legal foundations of Iraq's official militias, specifically the Peshmerga and the PMF because both teams have legal and constitutional coverage. However, we must first justify their designation as official militias and the legal and constitutional differences between them and other informal and unrecognized militias.
According to article 9 of the Iraqi constitution, "the Iraqi armed forces and security services will be composed of Iraqi people components, with due consideration given to their balance and representation without discrimination or exclusion." They will be subject to civilian authority, defend Iraq, not be used to oppress the Iraqi people, and not interfere in political affairs. They will play no role in the transfer of authority 11 . This article of the Iraqi constitution, mainly the preceding text, demonstrates the 11 "Iraq Constitution," 2005, https://www.refworld.org/pdfid/454f50804.pdf. Iraq. Notably, the executive power in Iraq has effectively neglected or paralyzed this article.

The Constitutional Basis of the Peshmerga Forces
From paragraphs I to paragraph V of the permanent Iraqi constitution (121), what was stated indicates the legitimacy of the administrative and political authorities of the Iraqi state. According to the article: First, except for the authorities specified in the exclusive sovereignty of the federal government, regional powers shall have the right to exercise executive, legislative, and judicial powers following this Constitution 13 .
Given the nature of the Iraqi federal state, this paragraph granted the regions, including the Kurdistan Regional Government, the right to form legislative, executive, and judicial authorities. It includes exercising administrative and political powers and freeing the regions to exercise these powers and authorities, except for what falls under the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal authorities.
Second, suppose there is a conflict between regional and national legislation on a subject outside the federal government's exclusive jurisdiction. In that case, the regional power can amend the application of national legislation within that region 14 .
In addition to what was mentioned in the first paragraph of Third, regions and governorates shall be allocated an equitable share of national revenues sufficient to discharge their responsibilities and duties while considering their resources, needs, and population rate 15 .
The third paragraph emphasizes the importance of federal governments assisting regional governments with what they require from a fair budget to carry out their work ultimately. It includes allocating a budget to the regions in the state's general budget, which the Iraqi Council approves of Representatives before the end of the fiscal year. Fourth, regional and governorate offices will be established in embassies and diplomatic missions to monitor cultural, social, and developmental issues 16 .
Fifth, the regional government is responsible for all administrative needs of the region, particularly the establishment and organization of the region's internal security forces, such as police, security forces, and guards 17 .
The fifth paragraph is an official and constitutional recognition of the regions' right to form security forces affiliated with them, such as the police, security, and regional guard. The armed forces are, first and foremost, forces that represent all components at the national level and then forces that represent regions at the local level. According to statistics, the Shiite component accounts for 85 percent of PMF affiliates and 15 percent of the Sunni. Regarding leadership, the 20 "Al-Hashd Al-Shabi, Al -Qwe Al-Nizamia Fe Al-Iraq," Al Jazeera Centre for Studies, Accesed December 3, 2022, http://studies.aljazeera.net/en/node/3795. 21 "A bureau order was issued to restructure the popular crowd with 20 brigades," t.t., https://n.annabaa.org/iraq/11031. 22 "A bureau order was issued to restructure the popular crowd with 20 brigades." 23 "A bureau order was issued to restructure the popular crowd with 20 brigades." 24 "A bureau order was issued to restructure the popular crowd with 20 brigades." 25 "A bureau order was issued to restructure the popular crowd with 20 brigades." 26 "A bureau order was issued to restructure the popular crowd with 20 brigades."

Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq (League of the Righteous)
It is a Shiite armed group that broke away from the Imam Mahdi

Badr Organization
The Badr Organization was founded in Iran in the early 1980s as the

Kata'ib Hezbollah
The  This section will examine the impacts of militias on democratic transition. There are numerous channels through which militias contribute negatively, but we will concentrate on three:

Human Rights
Militias are generally associated with state failure and violence; many studies show that when governments collaborate with informal armed groups, respect for human rights suffers 29 .
Communities that have been victims of organized crime and street gangs have formed or supported the formation of vigilante groups that seek to bring criminals to justice because the police, courts, and government are ineffective or corrupt. These security gaps allow local guardians to band together to provide public safety by directly confronting criminals.
However, the actions of anti-crime militias are largely unaccountable to the law. They act with little regard for due process and impartiality. In crime prevention in this situation, militias have taken on a wide range of policing duties, including neighborhood patrols, road checkpoints, and evidence gathering against criminals. In many cases, these militias have punished those they have identified as criminals rather than handing them over to the police and the legal system. Warnings, threats, curfews, fines or restitution, disfigurement, beatings, shootings, exile, and death have been common forms of punishment used by militias against suspected criminals 30 .
Militias are not uniform structures; they are formed to serve the interests of current or potential political leaders and wealthy warlords.
Smaller armed groups and individuals are drawn into coalitions by the prospect of increased wealth and power. Although the warlord leads the militias, the warlord's interests and those of the fighters are frequently at odds, and civilians are commonly used to further the agenda of the armed groups 31 .
Political leaders in illiberal and non-democratic states constantly fear losing power due to the betrayal of those in their inner circle or a popular uprising among their citizens. Many Latin American leaders have used militias to protect their regimes to prevent successful challenges to their political authority. These militias have served as local guardians, focusing solely on defending the ruling leadership and its critical supporters from political upheavals 32 .

Corruption
Citizens must have faith in their governing institutions, and those institutions must provide the security and services they require. There can be no trust when rampant corruption and safety and services suffer.
Corruption is endemic and especially damaging in countries transitioning from one form of governance to another or recovering from violent conflict.
Furthermore, rooting it out too quickly may result in more violence and instability. However, if corruption is allowed to fester in those societies, establishing strong and effective governance cannot be easy, and social and economic development will be hampered 33 .
Oil is one of the sectors in which militias are involved in the corruption process. Two significant corruption risks threaten the efficient use of hydrocarbon resources 34 : First, Smuggling of oil. Converging reports condemn oil smuggling on various scales, from local pipeline drilling to large-scale organized fraud. These illegal activities have been used to fund major political and religious organizations and personalities and criminals, militias, and other violent groups. Between 2005 and 2008, oil smuggling is estimated to have cost nearly $7 billion. Despite initiatives to improve metering, the problem persists, as demonstrated by Basrah oil workers who recently began a strike to protest "oil thieves" in their management. Second, Another major challenge for Iraq is the management of its oil revenue. Oil and gas, as extractives industries, are thought to have high corruption risks due to the large amounts of income and the increased incentives for rentseeking. Although Iraq has been a member of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative since 2012, many questions remain about how its booming oil revenues will be spent.

Conclusion
Based on what we have discussed above, it is clear that militias play a negative role in democratic transition. However, if these forces are not employed in the state's official defense institution, their negative role will not transform into a positive role in building state institutions. However, there is a distinction between official and unofficial militia forces. While 33 Henry, "The Economics of Corruption and the Corruption of Economics," The Mint Magazine (blog), 28 Maret 2021, https://www.themintmagazine.com/the-economicsof-corruption-and-the-corruption-of-economics.