Causes and Consequences of the Transformation of Government Militias into Parallel Armies: The Sudanese Rapid Support Forces as a Case Study Governments generally seek to maintain a monopoly over the instruments of physical force and firmly resist any attempt to challenge that monopoly in order to preserve stability and security. However, under certain circumstances, some governments relinquish part of this exclusive authority and rely on irregular armed groups to carry out specific combat tasks. Such groups are commonly referred to as pro-government militias or government-aligned militias. The Sudanese government’s use of armed militias dates back to the mid-1980s. As the scope of conflict in Sudan expanded during the rule of President Omar al-Bashir (1989–2019), reliance on militias increased, particularly in Darfur, where al-Bashir employed the “Janjaweed” militia to confront rebel movements. Over time, the Janjaweed, which initially numbered only in the hundreds, evolved into the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), whose strength eventually exceeded 100,000 troops. The RSF ultimately became a parallel army to the Sudanese Armed Forces and entered into a war with them that resulted in thousands of deaths, displaced millions of civilians, destroyed infrastructure, and caused a profound rupture in Sudan’s national unity. The central research question is: How did the Janjaweed militia transform into a formal force, the Rapid Support Forces, and subsequently develop into a parallel power capable of challenging the Sudanese army? This main question gives rise to several subsidiary questions: Why did the al-Bashir government rely on irregular forces? What stages did the Rapid Support Forces pass through in their development? What factors enabled the RSF to become a parallel force to the Sudanese army and challenge it? What impact has the RSF rebellion had on Sudan’s political and security future? The study employs the historical method to examine the development of the Rapid Support Forces from a militia into a force parallel to the national army. It also uses the descriptive-analytical method to explore the circumstances, reality, background, and effects of this institution at the local, regional, and international levels. In addition, the case study method is used to examine the Rapid Support Forces as a model of militias that evolve into forces parallel to national armies, with the aim of identifying the conditions that lead to such transformations and the risks these militias pose to national security. The research aims to explain the circumstances surrounding the emergence and development of the Rapid Support Forces, identify their strengths and weaknesses, and examine the economic, political, social, and security consequences resulting from the RSF rebellion in Sudan. Read More: Rapid Support Forces Research