At a time when major international coalitions had failed to eliminate ISIS in Iraq, the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) emerged in order to fight ISIS. However, the overlapping political, religious, and partisan spheres resulted in the idea of the PMF� originally a short-term initiative with a single goal�being utilized as a permanent entity with diverse political and ideological objectives. This paper aims to examine the emergence and development of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in Iraqi society, as well as the ideological and organizational shifts in the PMF�s approach since it was founded in 2014, and how these transformations have shaped the relationship between the PMF, the state, and civil society. This paper also traces the different domestic and foreign allegiances of PMF factions, and how the idea of the PMF has been employed to reestablish Iranian influence in Iraq.