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The Syrian jihad : Al-Qaeda, the Islamic State and the evolution of an insurgency

The eruption of the anti-Assad revolution in Syria has had many unintended consequences, among which is the opportunity it offered Sunni jihadists to establish a foothold in the heart of the Middle East. That Syria's ongoing civil war is so brutal and protracted has only compounded the situation, as have developments in Iraq and Lebanon. Ranging across the battlefields and international borders have been dozens of jihadi Islamist fighting groups, of which some coalesced into significant factions such as Jabhat al Nusra and the Islamic State. This book assesses and explains the emergence since 2011 of Sunni jihadist organisations in Syria's fledgling insurgency, charts their evolution and situates them within the global Islamist project. Unprecedented numbers of foreign fighters have joined such groups, who will almost certainly continue to host them. Thus, external factors in their emergence are scrutinised, including the strategic and tactical lessons learned from other jihadist conflict zones and the complex interplay between Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State and how it has influenced the jihadist sphere in Syria.Tensions between and conflict within such groups also feature in this indispensable volume.

The Islamic State : a brief introduction

"In 2014, the Islamic state seemingly appeared out of nowhere, routing Iraqi forces, conquering Iraq's second-largest city, boldly announcing the establishment of a caliphate, and declaring itself the Islamic State (IS). In this definitive guide to the Islamic State and its senior leadership, Charles R. Lister traces its roots from the release of its notorious father figure, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, from a Jordanian prison and the group's formation in Afghanistan in the late-1990s, and finally to its stunning maturation in Iraq and Syria. The West knows IS through its unrelenting propaganda war. Behind the deft use of social media and the slick videos of despicable acts is what amounts to a proto-state. Lister shares details of IS's sophisticated revenue machine, attempts at governing, and its formidable military. With IS knocking on the doors of Lebanon, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia, Lister's portrait helps us understand what to expect next and recommends a course of action to defeat IS, extinguish extremism, and encourage a tolerant Islam across the Middle East."--Provided by publisherIn 2014 the Islamic State - also known as ISIS, or ISIL - seemingly appeared out of nowhere, capturing large swathes of territory in war-torn Syria and rushing across the border into Iraq and taking over the second-largest city in the country, Mosul. Then came a flurry of videos showing Western journalists being beheaded by the group and stories of young people leaving their homes in the Middle East, Europe, and the United States to fight with the Islamic State. What is the Islamic State? Is it a threat as potent and large as Al Qaeda in the early 2000s? Charles R. Lister, a Brookings fellow and journalist with long experience in the region, provides answers to these and other questions in The Islamic State: A Brief Introduction. He shows that IS is not a new phenomenon but has long historical roots in the region and has evolved from a small terrorist group into a functional state. He explains how it has also become a savvy propagandist, making use of social media both to trumpet its conquests and brutality and to attract adherents. And the book weighs how the West and regional powers need to act to ensure that IS will not, as its slogan proclaims, continue to be "lasting and expanding".

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