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Journal Article

ISIS as Revolutionary State

01 Jan 2015-Foreign Affairs (Council on Foreign Relations)-Vol. 94, Iss: 6, pp 7
TL;DR: The authors discusses the revolutionary nature of the terrorist organization the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), with a particular focus on its role in acting like a state and the power it has throughout the world.
Abstract: The article discusses the revolutionary nature of the terrorist organization the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), with a particular focus on its role in acting like a state and the power it has throughout the world. The article compares the revolutionary nature of ISIS with revolutions throughout history, including the French Revolution in the late 18th century and the Bolshevik revolution in the early 20th century. An overview of the U.S.'s anti-ISIS efforts in Iraq and Syria is provided
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25 Jul 2019
TL;DR: The Anatomies of Revolution as discussed by the authors is a comprehensive account of one of the world's most important processes, and it will interest students and scholars studying revolutions, political conflict and contentious politics in sociology, politics and international relations.
Abstract: Recent years have seen renewed interest in the study of revolution. Spurred by events like the 2011 uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East, the rise of Islamic State, and the emergence of populism, a new age of revolution has generated considerable interest. Yet, even as empirical studies of revolutions are thriving, there has been a stall in theories of revolution. Anatomies of Revolution offers a novel account of how revolutions begin, unfold and end. By combining insights from international relations, sociology, and global history, it outlines the benefits of a 'global historical sociology' of revolutionary change, one in which international processes take centre stage. Featuring a wide range of cases from across modern world history, this is a comprehensive account of one of the world's most important processes. It will interest students and scholars studying revolutions, political conflict and contentious politics in sociology, politics and international relations.

60 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
Burak Kadercan1
TL;DR: While scholars and experts unanimously identify the group also known as Islamic State (ISIS) as a ‘territorial’ organization, there is little systematic analysis in International Relations (IR) res...
Abstract: While scholars and experts unanimously identify the group also known as Islamic State (ISIS) as a ‘territorial’ organization, there is little systematic analysis in International Relations (IR) res...

22 citations


Cites background from "ISIS as Revolutionary State"

  • ...Similarly, Stephen Walt (Walt, 2015) suggested that ISIS is best seen as a revolutionary state that is not all that different from cases such as Revolutionary France and the early Soviet Union....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The respective politico-military characters of the competing factions within the Boko Haram insurgency have not received as much academic attention as other features of the insurgency phenomenon as discussed by the authors, which is the case in most of the studies.
Abstract: The respective politico-military characters of the competing factions within the Boko Haram insurgency have not received as much academic attention as other features of the Boko Haram phenomenon. T...

14 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the emergent geopolitical picture introduces the poisonous mix of loss of state authority spiralling toward instability, defined by sectarianism, extremism, global rivalries, and ultimately irredentism within interdependent subregional formations.
Abstract: State failure, sovereignty disputes, non-state territorial structures, and revolutionary and counter-revolutionary currents, among others, are intertwined within the Arab Spring process, compelling old and emerging regional actors to operate in the absence of a regional order. The emergent geopolitical picture introduces the poisonous mix of loss of state authority spiralling toward instability, defined by sectarianism, extremism, global rivalries, and ultimately irredentism within interdependent subregional formations. This assertion is substantiated by detailed and specific evidence from the shifting and multi-layered alliance formation practices of intra- and inter-state relations, and non-state and state actors. Analysis of the relations and alliances through a dichotomous flow from domestic to regional and regional to global also sheds light on prospective future order. A possible future order may take shape around a new imagination of the MENA, with porous delimitations in the form of emergi...

13 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, Western and local powers also relied on policies of containment to halt the expansion of the Islamic State's territorial strongholds in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan, by using military means, causing disruption and interdiction.
Abstract: Next to military means, causing disruption and interdiction, Western and local powers also relied on policies of containment to halt the expansion of the Islamic State’s territorial strongholds. Ye...

9 citations


Cites background from "ISIS as Revolutionary State"

  • ...This angle frames ISIS as a revolutionary actor, which takes stock of a traditional territorial center of gravity and power (Byman, 2016; Cronin, 2015; Walt, 2015a) and not only as a transnational terrorist organization and social movement....

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  • ...The actions taken against ISIS rely on a limited approach, focusing on military operations to recapture territory and prevent ISIS’s territorial expansion (Jordan & Rubin, 2016; Juneau, 2015; Posen, 2015; Walt, 2015a, 2015b; Zakheim, 2014)....

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  • ...It is a revolutionary movement that replaced existing state structures with different ones (Byman, 2016, pp. 144–145; Walt, 2015a, p. 43), yet it is also a brutal insurgent organization (Pischedda, 2015) motivated by a theo-political agenda....

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