From Territorial Defeat to Global ISIS: Lessons Learned

From Territorial Defeat to Global ISIS: Lessons Learned PDF Author: J.A. Goldstone
Publisher: IOS Press
ISBN: 1643681494
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
When Islamic State (ISIS) forces were driven out of the territories they had acquired in Syria and Iraq, there remained a concern that the threat posed by ISIS was far from over. It was clear that significant long-term strategies would be needed to establish and maintain security and stability if the potential for further radical Islamist threats in the Middle East and among NATO countries was to be eradicated. This book presents papers from the NATO Advanced Research Workshop (ARW) entitled The Post ISIS-Era: Regional and Global Implications, held in Washington DC, USA, from 6-8 September 2019. The ARW brought together participants from NATO member nations and Partner countries, and from diverse backgrounds, including academia, security, law enforcement, intelligence, military, foreign affairs, media, think tanks, international organizations and embassies. Topics covered included: the future of ISIS after the loss of its territories; maintaining security and stability; analysis of ISIS recruitment and propaganda activities; the returnee problem and the plight of refugees; the processes of radicalization; response to the changing nature of violent extremism; policy recommendations to mitigate the consequences of new threats; and dealing with the exploitation of public fear of terrorism. The book also discusses how the lessons learned can be implemented, and offers specific policy recommendations for the future. It will be of interest to all those involved in combating the international terror threat.

From Territorial Defeat to Global ISIS: Lessons Learned

From Territorial Defeat to Global ISIS: Lessons Learned PDF Author: J.A. Goldstone
Publisher: IOS Press
ISBN: 1643681494
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 288

Get Book Here

Book Description
When Islamic State (ISIS) forces were driven out of the territories they had acquired in Syria and Iraq, there remained a concern that the threat posed by ISIS was far from over. It was clear that significant long-term strategies would be needed to establish and maintain security and stability if the potential for further radical Islamist threats in the Middle East and among NATO countries was to be eradicated. This book presents papers from the NATO Advanced Research Workshop (ARW) entitled The Post ISIS-Era: Regional and Global Implications, held in Washington DC, USA, from 6-8 September 2019. The ARW brought together participants from NATO member nations and Partner countries, and from diverse backgrounds, including academia, security, law enforcement, intelligence, military, foreign affairs, media, think tanks, international organizations and embassies. Topics covered included: the future of ISIS after the loss of its territories; maintaining security and stability; analysis of ISIS recruitment and propaganda activities; the returnee problem and the plight of refugees; the processes of radicalization; response to the changing nature of violent extremism; policy recommendations to mitigate the consequences of new threats; and dealing with the exploitation of public fear of terrorism. The book also discusses how the lessons learned can be implemented, and offers specific policy recommendations for the future. It will be of interest to all those involved in combating the international terror threat.

Europe and the MENA Region

Europe and the MENA Region PDF Author: Moosa Elayah
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 303098835X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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Book Description
This book provides an overview of the National Dialogue design process in fragile settings at the national, regional, and international levels in the MENA region. It provides a comparative analysis at the international level by examining the Yemeni NDC 2013 with those of Afghanistan and Ethiopia, and at the regional level, focusing on Iraq and Tunisia. It also goes beyond the traditional exploration of political and social conflicts by adding a rich theoretical layer of analysis of Humanitarian Aid and its contribution to war economies in the Arab region. Finally, it examines the news frames used in the coverage of the conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa and takes one step further to integrate a media lens by analysing the extent of the media coverage devoted to the Yemeni and Syrian wars by four prestigious European online news platforms. This incisive book presents a radical contrast between the on-ground reality of the conflicts in the region, distinguished by various social, political, economic, geographic, and humanitarian challenges, and its discordant abstract portrayal in European online media.

Routledge Handbook of Non-Violent Extremism

Routledge Handbook of Non-Violent Extremism PDF Author: Elisa Orofino
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000823830
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 547

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Book Description
This Handbook provides the first in-depth analysis of non-violent extremism across different ideologies and geographic centres, a topic overshadowed until now by the political and academic focus on violent and jihadi extremism in the Global North. Whilst acknowledging the potentiality of non-violent extremism as a precursor to terrorism, this Handbook argues that non-violent extremism ought to be considered a stand-alone area of study. Focusing on Islamist, Buddhist, Hindu, far-right, far-left, environmentalist and feminist manifestations, the Handbook discusses the ideological foundation of their ‘war on ideas’ against the prevailing socio-political and cultural systems in which they operate, and provides an empirical examination of their main claims and perspectives. This is supplemented by a truly global overview of non-violent extremist groups not only in Europe and the United States, but also in Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Middle East. The Handbook thus answers a call to decolonise knowledge that is especially prescient given both the complicity of non-violent extremists with authoritarian states and the dynamic of oppression towards more progressive groups in the Global South. The Handbook will appeal to those studying extremism, radicalisation and terrorism. It intersects several relevant disciplines, including social movement studies, political science, criminology, Islamic studies and anthropology.

The Air War Against the Islamic State

The Air War Against the Islamic State PDF Author: Becca Wasser
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781977406057
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 510

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Book Description
Airpower played a pivotal role in the U.S.-led fight against the Islamic State from 2014 to 2019 and contributed to the success of Operation Inherent Resolve, but airpower alone would not have been likely to defeat the militant organization.

The ISIS Reader

The ISIS Reader PDF Author: Haroro J. Ingram
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0197536026
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
In the wake of its "Caliphate" declaration in 2014, the self-described Islamic State has been the focus of countless academic papers, government studies, media commentaries and documentaries. Despite all this attention, persistent myths continue to shape--and misdirect--public understanding and strategic policy decisions. A significant factor in this trend has been a strong disinclination to engage critically with Islamic State's speeches and writings--as if doing so reflects empathy with the movement's goals or, even more absurdly, may itself lead to radicalisation. Going beyond the descriptive and the sensationalist, this volume presents and analyses a series of milestone Islamic State primary source materials. Scholar-practitioners with field experience in confronting the movement explore and contextualise its approach to warfare, propaganda and governance, examining the factors behind its dramatic evolution from failed proto-state in 2010 to standard-bearer of global jihadism in 2014, to besieged insurgency in 2018. The ISIS Reader will help anyone--students and journalists, military personnel, civil servants and inquisitive observers--to better understand not only the evolution of Islamic State and the dynamics of asymmetric warfare, but the importance of primary sources in doing so.

Global Rebellion

Global Rebellion PDF Author: Mark Juergensmeyer
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520934768
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 384

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Book Description
Why has the turn of the twenty-first century been rocked by a new religious rebellion? From al Qaeda to Christian militias to insurgents in Iraq, a strident new religious activism has seized the imaginations of political rebels around the world. Building on his groundbreaking book, The New Cold War?: Religious Nationalism Confronts the Secular State, Mark Juergensmeyer here provides an up-to-date road map through this complex new religious terrain. Basing his discussion on interviews with militant activists and case studies of rebellious movements, Juergensmeyer puts a human face on conflicts that have become increasingly abstract. He revises our notions of religious revolution and offers positive proposals for responding to religious activism in ways that will diminish the violence and lead to an accommodation between radical religion and the secular world.

Foundations of the Islamic State

Foundations of the Islamic State PDF Author: Patrick B. Johnston
Publisher: Rand Corporation
ISBN: 0833091794
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 349

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Book Description
Drawing from 140 recently declassified documents, this report comprehensively examines the organization, territorial designs, management, personnel policies, and finances of the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) and al-Qa‘ida in Iraq. Analysis of the Islamic State predecessor groups is more than a historical recounting. It provides significant understanding of how ISI evolved into the present-day Islamic State and how to combat the group.

Remote Warfare: Interdisciplinary Perspectives

Remote Warfare: Interdisciplinary Perspectives PDF Author: Alasdair McKay
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781910814567
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 266

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Book Description
Modern warfare is becoming increasingly defined by distance. Today, many Western and non-Western states have shied away from deploying large numbers of their own troops to battlefields. Instead, they have limited themselves to supporting the frontline fighting of local and regional actors against non-state armed forces through the provision of intelligence, training, equipment and airpower. This is remote warfare, the dominant method of military engagement now employed by many states. Despite the increasing prevalence of this distinct form of military engagement, it remains an understudied subject and considerable gaps exist in the academic understanding of it. Bringing together writers from various backgrounds, this edited volume offers a critical enquiry into the use of remote warfare.

Weapons of Misfortune

Weapons of Misfortune PDF Author: Josh Luberisse
Publisher: Fortis Novum Mundum
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 349

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Book Description
In the aftermath of more than seven decades of U.S. interventions in the Middle East, the region remains a complex web of proxy wars, fragile alliances, and entrenched conflicts. From the covert operations that toppled Iran’s Mohammad Mosaddegh in 1953, to the ill-fated invasion of Iraq in 2003, and the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East has been marked by a recurring pattern of short-term victories at the cost of long-term stability. Yet, time and again, the United States has engaged in conflicts driven by a mixture of geopolitical ambitions, strategic miscalculations, and ideological commitments, often leaving the region more unstable than before. From the Cold War’s ideological struggles to the War on Terror's fight against jihadism, Weapons of Misfortune critically examines the global implications of U.S. interventions—how the decisions to arm insurgents, back proxy forces, and topple regimes have inadvertently created power vacuum that birthed insurgencies, extremist movements, hostile regimes and enduring instability. The focus is on how U.S. actions, whether driven by ideological goals, the desire for geopolitical dominance, or securing immediate security interests, have often backfired, empowering adversaries from al-Qaeda to ISIS, and allowing other global players like Russia and China to expand their influence in regions once dominated by the U.S. This book provides a detailed analysis of pivotal events—such as the Iranian Revolution of 1979, the rise of ISIS, the civil war in Yemen and Syria, the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in Libya, and the post-9/11 invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq —to illustrate how the U.S.'s reliance on military force and proxy alliances has frequently undermined its long-term strategic objectives. It also delves into the humanitarian consequences of these interventions, highlighting how U.S.-backed wars have contributed to refugee crises, sectarian violence, and the destabilization of entire regions. Weapons of Misfortune reveal the recurring flaws in U.S. strategy: a tendency to prioritize immediate tactical victories over the nuanced political, social, and economic realities of the countries it seeks to influence. Through a meticulous analysis of the historical context of U.S. actions, this book offers a clear-eyed reflection on the failures of regime change, the pitfalls of arming proxy forces, and the unintended consequences of creating power vacuums that allow insurgent groups like al-Qaeda, ISIS, and the Taliban to thrive. The book’s critical reflection on U.S. interventions offers not only a sober assessment of past mistakes but also lessons for the future. It suggests potential strategies for how the U.S. can re-engage in the Middle East—and other volatile regions—without repeating the same errors. By embracing diplomacy, multilateral cooperation, and a deeper understanding of local dynamics, the book argues that the U.S. can move away from its over-reliance on military solutions and instead promote stability, good governance, and sustainable development in a region that remains pivotal to global security. Weapons of Misfortune is a must-read for policymakers, scholars, and anyone interested in understanding the long-term implications of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. The book does not shy away from confronting uncomfortable truths, but rather aims to equip readers with the insights needed to craft a more thoughtful, sustainable, and effective path forward. As the U.S. faces a shifting global order, marked by the rise of China, Russia, and other regional powers, Weapons of Misfortune serves as a timely reminder that the choices made in distant capitals have real and lasting consequences on the ground. By reflecting on the lessons of the past, this book offers a roadmap for a more nuanced, responsible, and contextually informed approach to U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and beyond.

Road Warriors

Road Warriors PDF Author: Daniel Byman
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190646527
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 336

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Book Description
Ever since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, fighters from abroad have journeyed in ever-greater numbers to conflict zones in the Muslim world to defend Islam from-in their view-infidels and apostates. The phenomenon recently reached its apogee in Syria, where the foreign fighter population quickly became larger and more diverse than in any previous conflict. In Road Warriors, Daniel Byman provides a sweeping history of the jihadist foreign fighter movement. He begins by chronicling the movement's birth in Afghanistan, its growing pains in Bosnia and Chechnya, and its emergence as a major source of terrorism in the West in the 1990s, culminating in the 9/11 attacks. Since that bloody day, the foreign fighter movement has seen major ups and downs. It rode high after the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, when the ultra-violent Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) attracted thousands of foreign fighters. AQI overreached, however, and suffered a crushing defeat. Demonstrating the resilience of the movement, however, AQI reemerged anew during the Syrian civil war as the Islamic State, attracting tens of thousands of fighters from around the world and spawning the bloody 2015 attacks in Paris among hundreds of other strikes. Although casualty rates are usually high, the survivors of Afghanistan, Syria, and other fields of jihad often became skilled professional warriors, going from one war to the next. Still others returned to their home countries, some to peaceful retirement but a deadly few to conduct terrorist attacks. Over time, both the United States and Europe have learned to adapt. Before 9/11, volunteers went to and fro to Afghanistan and other hotspots with little interference. Today, the United States and its allies have developed a global program to identify, arrest, and kill foreign fighters. Much remains to be done, however-jihadist ideas and networks are by now deeply embedded, even as groups such as Al Qaeda and the Islamic State rise and fall. And as Byman makes abundantly clear, the problem is not likely to go away any time soon.