During the last decade, the role of the Islamic State jihadist group has been very active on the international agenda, generating controversies among academics who work on the limits of non-state actors and the complexity of the State as the main unit of analysis in the international system. To understand how it arose, it is necessary to go back to the September 11 attacks and the later invasion of Iraq by the coalition of countries (Australia and the United Kingdom, among them) led by the United States; which would end up leading to a great political instability and an endless power struggle in the area.
The metamorphosis of the Islamic State is based on Al Qaeda, which recognized them, in 2004, as the group's official affiliate in Iraq; in addition to its founder, Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, of Jordanian origin, who was a key figure in the history, ideology and strategy of later years. He positioned himself in the jihadist salafism and organized various actions against those he considered enemies of Islam. He claimed that the kafir (infidels) even belonged to the same umma (Muslim community). This would generate many tensions among the population of the Middle East. Despite his death in 2006 Al-Zarqawi's legacy continued. The then newly formed Islamic State of Iraq absorbed various extremist jihadist groups, thus opening the way to a leadership rivalry with Al-Qaeda.
At the beginning of 2010 its existence was in danger, it suffered the loss of territories and faced great damage from American attacks. However, the revolts caused by the Arab Spring It facilitated reorganization and a brutal expansion into Syria. Abu Bakr Al-Bahdadi took control of this global benchmark of jihadism and, after occupying Mosul, declared the caliphate in 2014. The proclamation of him as the undisputed leader of the Islamic world was welcomed by thousands of extremists who would end up traveling to Syria and Iraq to join the call.
Why do they call themselves a State?
The image they intend to show to the world is that they are a State. But why? Do you have any characteristics to define yourself like this? The term "Condition" It has been widely used in the West since the 15th century. It is a political organization and a dominant and main actor in the conduct of international relations. An assessment that is unquestionably accepted, but which continues to generate confusion. The State does not become a fixed concept and description, but on the contrary, it is controversial and open to debate. For some, the State is the only form of political organization in which one can live, while for others it is even a tool of oppression. Despite the various studies by academics carried out to date, a single consensus has not yet been reached, paving the way for in-depth research into this phenomenon, which depends on the preferences, culture and ideology of the theorists.
FOR John Hoffman, the contradictory, problematic and varied structure of the State plays a very important role in the origin of the difficulty of defining it. Besides, Plato, one of the most important figures in Western thought, affirmed that the State is the only one capable of harmonizing and giving consistency to the individual virtues of man, of being led by philosophers, being supported by warriors and safeguarding the people. Also, for Farabi, an important philosopher of the Islamic world, the State is a structure that can only be established by the hand of rulers with moral principles, always taking into account the path given by God. For his part, Thomas Hobbes, defender of the theory of the social contract, makes a metaphorical representation of the State with the "Leviathan", described as an artificial person whose body is formed by the sum of its citizens. Through a social contract, the members will enjoy security and protection from the sovereign State.
Despite the different approaches to what the State is, there are common and necessary elements according to International Law to define it this way. According to the Montevideo Convention of 1933, a State must gather (I) a permanent population, (II) a determined territory, (III) a Government, (IV) and ability to enter in relations with other States. That is, it should be recognized as such by the international community. Does ISIS meet any of these requirements? Let's see:
Permanent population
It is not possible to establish a State without a human community, without a population. And it is essential that it be willing to organize under this model and submit to the power of a certain authority. In most cases the population shares religious, racial and cultural ties. To the declare the caliphate, Islamic State sought a homogeneous society united by the desire to live under the supposed authentic and pure Islamic authority. When the territories of Syria and Iraq were occupied, its people did not have the full capacity to decide. Some chose whether to stay or not, others had no choice. Some joined DAESH under duress and few voluntarily. Approximately 30.000 fighters They entered during their peak in 2015, and, although the majority came from Arab countries, it is important to recognize that a considerable number did so from Member States of the European Union and the United States.
Religion plays an interesting role. It is said by the doctrine that the population that agreed to live in the self-proclaimed Islamic State did so because of religious affiliations, and in part, it is true. Many conservative Muslims do not believe in the separation of religion - State and accept Islamic law as the only one capable of guaranteeing them an orderly life. However, there is also another reason: the announcement of the Caliphate was made to a population that has always been plagued by the destruction of wars, that with this proclamation she felt safe and decided to accept it. Daesh, having under control approximately 10 million people approached the notion of citizenshipHowever, the genocide against the Yazidi Kurds is one of the many abuses that distance the concept of this territory.
Determined territory
There are states in the world with continental territories like Russia (17.1 million km²), or tiny ones like the Vatican (0,44 km²), thus demonstrating that territorial extension is not subject to a minimum measure. In the case of the Islamic State, during the last decade it came to control a territory comparable to that of Portugal, extending from western Syria to eastern Iraq. With its motto "Stay and expand" (Baqiyya wa tatamaddad) it became a threat to the already weak sovereignty of Syria and Iraq, even going so far as to take their cities. At that time, it began the proselytism with which it imposed this radical interpretation of Islam in each conquered territory.
The remarkable difference between the Islamic State and other terrorist groups is the solid territorial organization applied during its years of splendor. They were aware that the division of the territory into various provinces (Wilayah) is key to the consolidation of their objectives. One of the characteristics of these provinces is the non-uniform structure: In cities like Raqqa and Nineveh, the Islamic State had total control of the territory, with indisputable sovereignty.. In others, it only had partial control due to the presence of other active actors or they simply occupied them as strategic points, such as the Caucasian provinces.
View: Russian Federation and radical jihadism
Despite its constant and surprising territorial growth, Daesh has lost large and important territories in recent years. Probably the most brutal blow to his desire to rule was the loss of his symbolic city of Dabiq, whose great value lies in the prophecy that it would be the city where the battle against the infidels would be fought and that it would end with a Muslim victory. . The defeat in this city morally weakened Daesh. Although the Islamic State had an optimal organization of its vast territory, enjoying power over it for a long period of time, it still had a long way to go before it was consolidated. The loss of territories overshadowed the administration it had and showed the vulnerability in its structure.
View: The Al Zarqawi cemetery: why the fall of the Caliphate does not mean the end of ISIS
Government
To fulfill the purposes of the population that lives in a certain territory, a fundamental requirement is due organization and control of a series of institutions that exercise sovereignty. The government's main task is to reflect the state's wishes, in addition to being the entity in charge of promoting interests, maintaining order and avoiding divisions within the people. And this is the area by which States are frequently measured; the IS having carried out sophisticated work in this regard. Videos of brutal murders and propaganda on the Internet generated terror in the world for many years. However, was its structure only designed to end lives?
The powerful government authority in territories it has controlled for years did not allow anarchy. Under autonomous government this group performed functions associated with those of a State, financed by its large oil holdings and taxes, mainly from religious minorities. The context of endless war in this territory favored Daesh to the point of being perceived as the "least bad" of all. It prioritized the creation of programs and services in favor of the population, gaining the sympathy of the people in the short term, regardless of ideology. And that was not enough for them, but they built infrastructures such as water dams and repaired power plants; which generated a great deal of dependence to the population.
Another key piece was the creation of a legal system based on a populist and radical interpretation of Islamic LawThey promised that they would return to the days of the Prophet Mohammed by obeying the laws: "There is no better Law than that of Allah." Their legislation was responsible for applying penalties for crimes that, according to them, appear in the Koran, such as amputation of hands for theft, stoning, or the death penalty for adultery, homosexuality, or blasphemy against Allah and his prophet, among others. It is important to emphasize that a large part of the population considered these punishments to be effective.
Management of relations with other States
The State must be able to establish relations with the other States of the international system with the objective of guaranteeing its security from external powers and strengthening the continuity of its existence. For Daesh this has been an area of little or no interest. From the beginning they flatly rejected the current world order. For them, the current borders have no Islamic foundations at all, so they consider the borders as a colonial creation of the West. Let us not forget that his understanding of the caliphate not only covers countries with a Muslim majority, but also They seek to impose a single Muslim world government governed by the caliph and Islamic Law. However, despite its poor performance, it has managed to participate directly in international processes. Its vast oil reserves have been exported.
Furthermore, the acquisition of weapons for the protection and defense of their territories is an issue that controversially involves other States. For example, it is known that 20% of Daesh's anti-armor rockets in Iraq and Syria were manufactured in the EU, indicating the development of international trade between states with the Islamic State.
View: European weapons for the Islamic State
At the beginning we wondered if ISIS had any loopholes that made it similar to a State. We conclude, now that, Not even in its most prosperous days did the self-proclaimed caliphate come close to being one. Categorizing the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (or IS, as it came to be called) is not as simple as it seems, although for many it is a simple terrorist organization like Al-Qaeda, full of religious fanatics, the territories it conquered during the last decade, administered by a governance never before seen in this type of groups, show us that their intention to form a State was serious. Its budget, enviable by many other countries, acquired through taxes and the oil trade, increased hostility towards the weak governments of the region, gradually gaining legitimacy and establishing itself as a viable alternative for the population.
However, the war against dozens of countries was proof that they did not obtain positive results. They suffered serious losses of territory and heavy casualties of soldiers that weakened their military power. In addition, they were left without their 'caliph' Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, who took his own life with an explosive vest in October 2019 after a United States operation. Without the presence of his most powerful member, the formation of his long-awaited caliphate would not be possible. Their dream of forming a State was short-lived, they did not have enough power to guarantee their survival.
ISIS altered the false perception of security of Western States. If before it was faithfully believed that non-state groups could not be influential entities in international conflicts, now, taking into account everything that has happened in recent years, we know that they can put the world order in suspense.
The State is and has always been the main and sovereign unit, however, the prominence of violent non-state actors such as the Islamic State is a reality and we must be attentive to its future consequences.
Internationalist from the University of Selçuk, Türkiye. My life is oriented towards learning new cultures, which, the more remote and unknown, the better!
Passionate about international politics, history and diplomacy; with great perception of international cooperation. He speaks Spanish, English and Turkish; and, through my writings, I will try to explain the world around us to you in a clear and simple way.
"Peace in the homeland, peace in the world."
