OK, so they can be handy, in the hands of a government-in-exile looking to replace a foreign-imposed kleptocracy with a restoration of their own religious autho

OK, so they can be handy, in the hands of a government-in-exile looking to replace a foreign-imposed kleptocracy with a restoration of their own religious authoritarian state. That's granting that we can call enough of what they've got "private arms" for them to be a significant factor in the first place (I truly don't know how that would break down—maybe most of their soldiers really do go out and buy their own guns, before joining the cause). Even so, none of that seems to have much to do with keeping one's own government liberal and democratic, though, which is what I'm interested in.