Insurgencies and Democratization
Abstract
Author: Colin Bowie
Academic Major(s): International Affairs and Justice Studies
Institution: James Madison University
Presentation Title: The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL): Combatting the Challenge of Postmodern Islamic Terrorism
Abstract: This 38-page white paper examines the causes behind the terrorist group ISIL and ultimately recommends a comprehensive policy to destroy the group and eliminate chances of its revival. The author reviews the history of Al Qaeda in Iraq and the unraveling of Syria during its civil conflict. ISIL’s rise, tactics and its manifestation as a group that actively holds territory is discussed. A literature review then analyzes three case studies of terrorism – the Irish Republican Army, the Tamil Tigers, and Hamas. Three policies are offered as possible courses of U.S. action to destroy ISIL. The author ultimately recommends a policy that calls for full-scale humanitarian and armed intervention in both Iraq and Syria to provide safe haven to refugees, force an end to the Syrian civil war and construct a functioning Iraqi state. The author concludes that resolving the conflicts in these failed states is necessary to comprehensively destroy ISIL.
Included in
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The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL): Combatting the Challenge of Post-Modern Islamic Terrorism
Author: Colin Bowie
Academic Major(s): International Affairs and Justice Studies
Institution: James Madison University
Presentation Title: The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL): Combatting the Challenge of Postmodern Islamic Terrorism
Abstract: This 38-page white paper examines the causes behind the terrorist group ISIL and ultimately recommends a comprehensive policy to destroy the group and eliminate chances of its revival. The author reviews the history of Al Qaeda in Iraq and the unraveling of Syria during its civil conflict. ISIL’s rise, tactics and its manifestation as a group that actively holds territory is discussed. A literature review then analyzes three case studies of terrorism – the Irish Republican Army, the Tamil Tigers, and Hamas. Three policies are offered as possible courses of U.S. action to destroy ISIL. The author ultimately recommends a policy that calls for full-scale humanitarian and armed intervention in both Iraq and Syria to provide safe haven to refugees, force an end to the Syrian civil war and construct a functioning Iraqi state. The author concludes that resolving the conflicts in these failed states is necessary to comprehensively destroy ISIL.
