Overview

As the battle against the Islamic State unfolds on the battleground and in cyberspace, the U.S. government has declared its commitment to disrupt-and ultimately defeat-the terrorist group. The Islamic State, also known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant and ISIS, has become one of the most deadly and influential terrorist groups in the Middle East. Strategic communications cannot be underestimated. The unit tasked with countering the terrorist group's propaganda and recruitment efforts, the State Department's Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications (CSCC), has recently restructured to improve its efforts. This thesis examines the Center's mission, strategy, and communications to assess the efficacy of its efforts to counter the Islamic State terrorist group and degrade its ability to recruit foreign fighters. It analyzes the Islamic State and introduces the CSCC's successor, the Global Engagement Center. Finally, it offers research findings and provides recommendations for future consideration. Chapter II provides a brief history of the rise of the Islamic State, their use of propaganda, and their forms of recruitment. Chapter III provides an overview of the State Department's CSCC establishment, reviews its efforts aimed at countering the Islamic State's ability to recruit foreign fighters, and an examination of the effectiveness of these efforts. The conclusion ties the research together, draws overall conclusions, and explores other plausible recommended courses of action. The Islamic State has been able to recruit an unprecedented number of foreign fighters. Its lucrative recruiting efforts are possible due to its large footprint on the Internet. The Islamic State, its supporters, and its sympathizers use an array of social media outlets to disseminate propaganda via an elaborate strategic messaging campaign. Social media outlets allow the Islamic State to spread its powerful propaganda based on an extreme version of Sunni Islam, through this medium the Islamic State encourages the use of suicidal terrorism, insurgency, and guerrilla warfare tactics by millions of current and potential supporters.

Full Product Details

9781718167643

Table of Contents

Reviews

Author Information

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available