ISIS: Territory, Not Terrorism

• In Event: 463 - Section on Collective Behavior and Social Movements Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 25. Violence and the State

Abstract

ISIS (now Islamic State) rapidly seized a huge chunk of territory in northern Iraq in 2014, leading to its seizing international attention and a U.S. military response. There has been and continues to be intense debate as to the nature of the organization and the reasons for its striking success. This paper argues that while ISIS shares al-Qaeda’s Sunni salafi ideology, what makes it quite different is its project of establishing an “Islamic State,” a restored caliphate, today, rather than in the distant future after a long fight with unbelievers. Further, what fuels this project and its success is the collapse of the regimes of both Iraq and Syria, Iraq in 2003 and Syria in 2011, and the rise of Sunni insurgencies to reclaim territory. Understanding this territorial ambition of ISIS is crucial to an accurate assessment of the organization’s strength and appeal as well as its likely weaknesses.

Author

• Richard Hutchinson, Kennesaw State University