How do states align with external armed groups? Is such a policy the strategy of the weak? Paradoxically, is the rise in armed group power due to the decline of the state power of its regional sponsors? By drawing primarily from a case study of Syria, this lecture will seek to answer the more general question of state-armed group alliances in international relations theory and practice.

Please join us! Coffee and tea provided. Everyone is welcome, but admittance will be on a first come–first served basis.