عنوان

Foreign fighter recruitment messaging and the 'Islamic State'

TL49280

انگلیسی

Foreign fighter recruitment messaging and the 'Islamic State'

[Thesis]

Jacob M. Nelson

Goetze, David

Utah State University

2017

61

Committee members: Bates, Scott; Johnson, Jeannie

Place of publication: United States, Ann Arbor; ISBN=978-1-369-65931-3

M.S.

Political Science

Utah State University

2017

The most current general theory of 'foreign fighters' in civil conflicts suggests that insurgencies wishing to recruit fighters abroad generally send them propaganda messages that predicate their participation on the necessity to defend their common transnational identity. However, this 'defensive mobilization' model of foreign fighters did not seem to fit well with the Islamic State's insurgency, as their objectives and behavior seemed much more aggressive than defensive, and consequently a 'defensive mobilization' message in their propaganda seemed unlikely. My alternative research hypothesis was that the Islamic State does not primarily use defensive narratives to attract foreign fighter recruits. Using content analysis of Dabiq, the Islamic State's international recruitment magazine, I found evidence supporting my hypothesis. Instead of using primarily messages of defending a common group, I found that Dabiq distributed messages of their religious legitimacy, their religious and military superiority, the inevitability of their victory, and the Muslim obligation and duty to emigrate and support the Islamic State to their potential foreign recruits.

Cultural anthropology; International Relations; Political science

Social sciences;Foreign fighters;ISIL;ISIS;Islamic State;Propaganda

Auerbach, Jennifer

Goetze, David

Political Science

Utah State University

1883363276; 10260640

p

[Thesis]

276903

a

Y