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Description

This paper looks at how the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) projects power through a combination of military operations and sophisticated use of social media. Focusing on Iraq and Syria, it analyzes how ISIS leverages digital platforms to amplify its battlefield successes, recruit foreign fighters, intimidate adversaries, and shape global perceptions. ISIS’s integration of violence, governance, and strategic communication enables it to function as both a terrorist organization and a proto-state. By exploiting sectarian divisions, weak governance, and the information environment, ISIS has demonstrated an ability to extend its influence beyond physical territory. The paper highlights the implications of this hybrid model for counterterrorism and stresses the need for strategies that address both the physical and virtual dimensions of modern conflict.

Document Type

Policy Brief

Region(s)

Iraq, Syria, Middle East

Topic(s)

Information Operations, Irregular Warfare, Terrorism and Extremism

Publication Date

10-2014

Publication

Defense Horizons

Publisher

National Defense University Press

City

Washington, DC

Keywords

ISIS, Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, Iraq, Syria, terrorism, insurgency, digital propaganda, social media warfare, information operations, psychological operations, recruitment, radicalization, sectarian violence, hybrid warfare, non-state actors, strategic communication, violent extremism, governance, territorial control, influence operations, counterterrorism strategy, asymmetric warfare

A Time to Tweet, as Well as a Time to Kill: ISIS’s Projection of Power in Iraq and Syria

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