№75: Ignore Them at Your Peril: The (Missing?) Strategic Narrative of ISIS
№75: Ignore Them at Your Peril: The (Missing?) Strategic Narrative of ISIS

Author(s): Kacper Rękawek
Subject(s): Islam studies, Security and defense, Studies in violence and power, Radical sociology , Sociology of Religion
Published by: PISM Polski Instytut Spraw Międzynarodowych
Keywords: Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham; ISIS; extreme violence; radicalism; ISIS strategy; terrorism; security;
Summary/Abstract: The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) is an organisation that is often misunderstood. Usually, it is seen as a barbaric and terrorist cult intent on acts of extreme violence, and an entity focused on achieving global objectives. At the same time, it presents itself as an opportunistic entity and is clearly telling us what its plans are as it attempts to transform itself away from a local and regional group, preoccupied with Iraq, Syria and the Arabian Peninsula, and is assured of its ongoing growth potential. The West and the anti-ISIS coalition should take stock of the ISIS strategic narrative, which in the past was too often disregarded, refrain from utilising quick fixes in combating the organisation, and prioritise denying it its growth opportunities.

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