The Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies (ACRPS) and the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies have published Issue 11 (Autumn 2025) of the Hikama journal on public policy and public administration. It features a special issue on “Governance of the Defence, Security, and Intelligence Sector in Arab States,” managed by guest editor Muhanad Seloom.
This special issue includes an introduction by Hikama Editor-in-Chief Abdel-Fattah Mady, calling for “an Arab Approach to the Governance of Defense, Security, and Intelligence Institutions.” It also includes six papers on various topics: “Military Hybridization in Sudan and the Challenges of Security Sector Reform,” by Hassan El Haj Ali; “Orders of Superiors Governance: An Approach to Governing the Security Sector through the Promotion of Human Rights and the Rule of Law,” by Rashad Twam; “Intelligence and Governance in Iraq: from Authoritarianism to Fragmentation,” by Muhanad Seloom; “The Military and Politics in Tunisia: Politicization and Civilian Oversight from an Institutional Perspective,” by Mohamed El Aoufi; “From the Barracks to the Parliament: Co-optation and Containment Policies Toward Military Retirees in Jordan’s Parliamentary Life (1989-2024),” by Musab Al-Shawabkeh and Hareth Altous; and “Intelligence and Decision-Makers in the Arab World: Diagnosing the Relationship and Democratic Governance,” by Louay Abdelfettah.
In addition to the special issue, Mohammed Saddougui contributed a study titled “Climate Finance and Community Resilience in the Arab Countries.” The issue also features a translated article by Louis-Alexandre Berg, “Civil–Military Relations and Civil War Recurrence: Security Forces in Postwar Politics.”
In the Book Reviews section, Mohanad Seloom writes about AI, Automation, and War: The Rise of a Military-Tech Complex, by Anthony King, while Saoud Al-Eshaq reviews Steven Ward’s book, Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence: A Concise History.
Finally, the editorial board also presents four featured publications: The Research Handbook on Civil-Military Relations, eds. Aurel Croissant, David Kuehn and David Pion-Berlin; The Global Militarisation Index 2024, eds. Marc von Boemcken, Jari Bertolini, Jan Niklas Reich and Paul Rohleder; A Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) factsheet, “Trends in World Military Expenditure 2024,” by Xiao Liang et al.; and “Unlocking Access: Balancing National Security and Transparency in Defence”, by Stephanie Trapnell and Yi Kang Choo.
