In the last ten years, we have seen many states in the Global South concentrate political and economic functions within their armed forces. In states such as Libya, Algeria, and Sudan, civil and political rights continue to errode as the balance of power shifts in favor of the military. To further perpetuate their rule, these states have employed widespread reputation laundering and established parallel judicial systems to lend an air of legitimacy to their actions. The continued existence of these regimes appears unsustainable, with evident cracks emerging; from economic instability to the proliferation of social media, providing an unprecedented glimpse into the inner workings of these otherwise insular states.

For half of his life, Kareim had the pleasure of living in one such state. Growing up amidst the backdrop of the Arab Spring and the corrective revolutions that followed, he witnessed firsthand the intricacies of military rule. Having initially pursued a legal career, as well as briefly working as a researcher studying the role of the judiciary in the shaping of the modern state, his journey led to him arriving to the Netherlands as an asylum seeker fleeing marginalization. In this lecture, he will shed light on the various mechanisms with which these states operate, as well as attempt to amplify voices that have thus far remained unheard.