From Caliphate to Global Insurgency: Islamic State’s Strategic Evolution & The Global Jihad

Summary

The Islamic State’s military operations have changed significantly in recent years, evolving from the hybridized conventional activities that broadly characterized its military strategy when it controlled swathes of territory across Syria and Iraq circa 2014-16. Today, it has seemingly settled into the battle rhythms of what it hopes will be drawn-out guerrilla warfare campaigns spread across its global network of affiliates. 

On April 28, 2021, the Program on Extremism at George Washington University hosted an online panel to launch a new ISIS Files report, Islamic State’s Department of Soldiers. Panelists discussed the findings of the report, the latest trends in the Islamic State’s strategy, its impact on other jihadi groups like al-Qaida, and its counterstrategy implications. This report, authored by Craig Whiteside, Anas Elallame, Moorthy Muthuswamy, and Aram Shabanian, examines the Islamic State’s management of its war efforts across its Iraqi and Syrian provinces. The report draws on archival primary sources to examine the Islamic State’s Diwan al-Jund (Soldier’s Department) and its historical and organizational evolution. 

This panel discussion was moderated by Program on Extremism Senior Research Fellow Haroro J. Ingram and featured:

• Craig Whiteside, Associate Professor at the Naval War College
• LTG (ret.) Terry Wolff, Director of the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies  
• Katherine Zimmerman, Resident Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute