ISIS and the Challenge of Islamist Extremism
| Author | Aaron Edwards |
| Published date | 01 April 2015 |
| Date | 01 April 2015 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/2041-9066.12081 |
12 POLITICAL INSIGHT • APRIL 2015
The brutal beheading of Western
journalists and humanitarian aid
workers by the Islamic State in Iraq
and al-Sham (ISIS) dominated the
headlines in 2014. Images of captives in orange
jump suits, forced to read out statements
criticising Western government policy
towards the Middle East before being casually
decapitated, have earned the Sunni terrorist
group a reputation for barbarity. Yet, we must not
lose sight of the fact that ISIS is a non-state actor
that has emerged as a direct consequence of
the deteriorating political and security situation
in both Syria and Iraq. It is worth delving into the
reasons for its meteoric rise.
The rise of ISIS
The emergence of ISIS and its break with al-
Qaeda’s ‘general command’ in February 2014,
has had profound repercussions for the stability
of both Syria and Iraq. Known variously as
Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and
Islamic State (IS) by Western commentators,
or Daesh by Arabs, the group has acted as a
lightning rod for disaection across the region.
Capitalising on the unfullled promise by Nouri
al-Maliki’s government to share power with
marginalised Iraqi Sunnis, ISIS seized the key
north-western cities of Fallujah, Ramadi and
Mosul in the rst half of 2014. According to the
Iraq Body Count, 17,049 people lost their lives in
2014, almost double the gure for 2013.
That Iraq has seemingly relapsed into civil
war should not surprise political scientists.
Since the end of the Second World War few
intra-state armed conicts have actually ended
ISIS and the Challenge
of Islamist Extremism
The group known variously as Islamic State and ISIS has brought death and chaos to the Middle East and
beyond. Aaron Edwards charts the rise of ISIS, and argues that more sophisticated – and imaginative –
thinking is needed to halt the advance of Islamist extremism.
Image: © Press Association.
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