Miron Lakomy - Islamic States Online Propaganda: A Comparative Analysis

Explaining the means utilised by the editors of the Islamic States online magazines to win the hearts and minds of their audiences, this book is a result of a multidimensional content analysis of two flagship periodicals of the Islamic State: Dabiq and Rumiyah.

Drawing from a number of theoretical concepts in propaganda studies, the research uses comparative analysis to understand the evolution of the modus operandi employed by the editorial staff. The volume evaluates the types of arguments used in these magazines, as well as the emotions and behaviour that these triggered in readers. This book concentrates on the formats and thematic composition of a variety of the Islamic States e-periodicals, including Dabiq, Rumiyah, Dar al-Islam or Konstantiniyye, from the viewpoint of the constantly changing strategic situation and priorities of the Caliphate. The e-magazines of the post-territorial phase of the Islamic State, e.g. From Dabiq to Rome and Youth of the Caliphate, were also taken into consideration.

Overall, this book does not only offer new insights into the propaganda methods of the Islamic States periodicals, but it also summarises their rise and fall between 2014 and 2019. The volume is dedicated mostly to academics and postgraduate students specialised in terrorism studies, political violence, and security studies.

Miron Lakomy is an Associate Professor at the Institute of Political Sciences at the University of Silesia, Poland. He was a visiting fellow at the University of Oxford and the European University Institute and a visiting scholar at the University of Cambridge. His research focuses mostly on online terrorist propaganda and he has published in world-leading journals in the field of security studies, including Terrorism & Political Violence, Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, and Security Journal.

First published 2021
by Routledge
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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

2021 Miron Lakomy

The right of Miron Lakomy to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Lakomy, Miron, author.
Title: Islamic States online propaganda : a comparative analysis / Miron Lakomy.
Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2021. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020050063 (print) | LCCN 2020050064 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: IS (Organization) | Propaganda. | Internet and terrorism. | Electronic journals--Political aspects.
Classification: LCC HV6433.I722 L35 2021 (print) | LCC HV6433.I722 (ebook) | DDC 956.9104/238--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020050063
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020050064

ISBN: 978-0-367-69947-5 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-367-69948-2 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-14397-0 (ebk)

Typeset in Times New Roman
by SPi Global, India

The emergence of the Islamic State has proven to be one of the key factors that has influenced international security in recent years.1 Its rapid rise to power in 2014, manifested by the military offensive that steamrolled Iraqi armed forces, the subsequent proclamation of the Caliphate, and a series of meaningful terrorist attacks, was met with shock and disbelief by the world.2 As Fishman rightly emphasised, the fall of Mosul constituted the greatest achievement of any jihadi group since the 9/11 attacks.3 This triumphant march through the Levant and Iraq, which marked the beginning of another difficult chapter in the war against Islamist terrorism, was not an accident. Daesh, being a direct descendant of the Iraqi branch of al-Qaeda, for years nurtured statehood ambitions, which came to the fore in 2014, mostly due to the opportunities provided by the Syrian conflict. It quickly capitalised on these events and developed a sophisticated organisational structure, including territorial administration, the equivalent of armed forces,4 as well as a quasi-legal system based on shariah courts.5 Its well-motivated, fanatical fighters not only achieved a series of victories in the Middle East but, in addition, soon after branches of Daesh emerged elsewhere, including Africa, the Caucasus, as well as Central and South-Eastern Asia. In this context, as Byman accurately noted, the Islamic State proved to be a completely new phenomenon from the viewpoint of counterterrorism, as it moved beyond terrorism and even insurgency and aspired to build a state on its own terms.6