The Awakening Movement: A Narrative-level Study of Mobilization

摘要

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.