ABSTRACT
While existing literature offers accounts that largely focus on the role of non-state actors in the rise of violent extremism, this chapter brings attention to the dynamic relationship between the state and the phenomenon of violent extremism. Grounding theoretical reflection in the context of the West Asia and North Africa (WANA) region, and more precisely post-2003 Iraq, this chapter critically deciphers what constitutes the State in so-called post-conflict time. It argues that violent extremism on the one hand, and the sustainability of the political structures and elite despite the overwhelming account of “State collapse” in Iraq on the other, are part of a reinforcing loop. Hence, this chapter offers a more nuanced and critical account of the concept of resilience. Such an account should include the source of resilience and the impact of the resilience of some actors on others, that is, the impact of state resilience to uncertainty on the (lack of) resilience of grassroots communities to violent extremism. Finally, this chapter concludes that the failure of both bottom-up and top-down approaches calls for an innovative, transversal and inclusive approach to heal the scars left by two decades of rampant conflicts.
