Territoriality of Radical Islamist Groups

<p>This book examines the issue of territorial control by violent jihadist groups using a comparative perspective.</p><p>The book argues that in many parts of the world the connection between a state and the control over territory is not as close as presented by conventional political maps and therefore it is necessary to analyse the territoriality of non-state actors as well. Based on a variety of case studies the work looks at different levels of connection between the violent Islamist groups and territory dividing them into non-territorial semi-territorial and territorial groups. While the majority of the cases are located in the Middle East (Islamic State Al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda at the Arabian Peninsula Ha´yat Tahrir al-Sham Hamas and Hezbollah) the book also draws cases from Africa (groups in the western Sahel Al-Shabaab and Boko Haram) South Asia (Taliban) and East Asia (Abu Sayyaf). By providing in-depth understanding of their respective approaches to territory the book identifies the specifics of each group’s territoriality while also drawing more general conclusions.</p><p>This book will be of much interest to students of terrorism and political violence radical Islam Middle Eastern studies and International Relations in general.</p>