BROADCASTS.com

The growing power of armed groups in the Middle East has raised an old question: how do militants recruit new constituents? Researchers have long debated the relative merits of ideology versus services as drivers of militant groups (an argument dubbed \u201cgreed vs. grievance\u201d). \xa0\nDevelopments in Iraq and Lebanon have given us a better understanding of the interplay of ideas and material rewards for militia recruitment. Legacy militia groups like Hezbollah have been joined by relative newcomers like Iraq\u2019s Popular Mobilization Units (\u201cHashd al Shaabi\u201d) at the epicenter of power. On this podcast, Renad Mansour, a leading expert on Iraq\u2019s paramilitaries, joins Sima Ghaddar, a keen observer of Hezbollah, to discuss the new insights about paramilitary recruitment and loyalty that they\u2019ve learned from Iraq and Lebanon. \nParticipants include:\nSima Ghaddar, policy associate, The Century Foundation\nRenad Mansour, research fellow, Chatham House\nThanassis Cambanis, senior fellow, The Century Foundation