Dr. Craig Whiteside, "The Routinization of Islamic State's Global Enterprise"

It is increasingly clear that the lack of a coherent and consistent lens through which to understand Islamic State’s (ISIS) transnational enterprise is undermining how scholars and practitioners alike are interpreting the significance of the group’s global agenda. This lecture, based on Dr. Whiteside's current research and a recent co-authored study published by the Hudson Institute, attempts to bring some nuance to the table, aiding our understanding of how Islamic State conceptualizes—and then operationalizes—its international endeavors. Islamic State's self-proclaimed "caliphate" today is best understood as an adhocratic global insurgency—an irregularly managed collection of diverse, geographically dispersed militant groups competing to govern in suitable areas—the character of which is reflective of the ideological compulsion, strategic principles, and organizational traits that underpin the ambitions of its larger political project. In doing so, Islamic State's forays abroad are impacted by both top-down and bottom-up forces that can lead to synchronicities and tensions—both globally and at an affiliate level. Drawing on a spectrum of case studies, the lecture will address what these mean for both Islamic State’s core and its global provinces. The full research paper is available here.

Dr. Craig Whiteside is an Associate Professor of National Security Affairs at the U.S. Naval War College at its resident program at the Naval Postgraduate School where his research and teaching focuses on counterterrorism, information operations, and irregular warfare. He is also a senior associate with the Naval War College’s Center on Irregular Warfare and Armed Groups, a fellow at the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism at The Hague, and a fellow with George Washington University’s Program on Extremism. He has a Ph.D. in political science from Washington State University and is a retired U.S. Army officer (Lt. Col.) with combat experience in Iraq. He most recently is the co-author of The ISIS Reader: Milestone Texts of the Islamic State Movement (Oxford University Press).

Intro/outro music is "Evolution" from BenSound.com (https://www.bensound.com)

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