The contributors to this book challenge this conventional understanding of irregular forces in Southeast Asia, demonstrating that they often attract solid support from civilians and can be major contributors to the building of community security.

Atsushi Yasutomi is Associate Professor at the Department of Social System Design, Eikei University of Hiroshima, Japan.

Rosalie Arcala Hall is Professor of Political Science at the University of the Philippines Visayas.

Saya Kiba is Associate Professor of Political Science at Kobe City University of Foreign Studies, Japan.

Introduction 1. Characterizing Irregular Forces 2. Pathways for Irregular Forces 3. Non-state Violence and Political Order in Democratized Indonesia 4. The Post-conflict Pathways of the Irregular Forces in Timor-Leste 5. The Grey Zone of Irregular Forces: Politically Sanctioned, Local Defense, and Organized Crime Groups in the Philippines 6. Between legal and legit: local security arrangements between state security actors and irregular forces in Bangsamoro region, Philippines 7. Frontline Informality: Paramilitary Forces and Progovernment Militias in Thailand's Deep South Counter-insurgency 8. Security Governance in Southeast Asia: Security Sector Reform with Nonstate Actors 9. Conclusion