ISIS: The State of Terror

by Jessica Stern, J. M. Berger

Overview

Two leading experts in terrorism provide "smart, granular analysis" of the group's brutally effective strategy, tactics, and ideology (Washington Post).
The Islamic State, known as ISIS, exploded into the public eye in 2014, capturing the imagination of the global jihadist movement and attracting recruits in unprecedented numbers. It also exhibited a level of sadistic violence and destruction that has alienated even the hardcore terrorists of its parent organization, al Qaeda.
In ISIS: The State of Terror, Jessica Stern and J.M. Berger trace the ideological innovations that the group deploys to recruit unprecedented numbers of Westerners, the composition of its infamous snuff videos, and the technological tools it exploits on social media to broadcast its atrocities. They also examine ISIS's predatory abuse of women and children and its use of horror to manipulate world leaders—and its own adherents—as it builds its twisted society. The authors conclude with a much-needed perspective on how world leaders should respond to ISIS's insidious provocations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062395566
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	03/19/2024
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	416
File size:	950 KB

About the Author

Jessica Stern is a leading expert on terrorism and trauma. Stern is the coauthor with J. M. Berger of ISIS: The State of Terror and the author of Denial: A Memoir of Terror and Terror in the Name of God: Why Religious Militants Kill, selected by the New York Times as a notable book of the year. She has held fellowships awarded by the Guggenheim Foundation, the Erikson Institute, and the MacArthur Foundation. She was a Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellow, a national fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, and a fellow of the World Economic Forum. Stern is a research professor at Boston University. Prior to teaching, she worked in government, serving on President Clinton’s National Security Council Staff and as an analyst at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

J. M. Berger is a nonresident fellow with the Brookings Institution and the author of Jihad Joe: Americans Who Go to War in the Name of Islam, a critically acclaimed history of the American jihadist movement. He is a regular contributor to Foreign Policy magazine and his website, Intelwire.com, has published thousands of declassified documents on the September 11 attacks and the Oklahoma City bombing.

Table of Contents

Glossary ix

Timeline xv

A Note on Sourcing xxiii

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 The Rise and Fall of Al Qaeda in Iraq 13

Chapter 2 The Rise of ISIS 33

Chapter 3 From Vanguard to Smart Mob 53

Chapter 4 The Foreign Fighters 75

Chapter 5 The Message 101

Chapter 6 Jihad Goes Social 127

Chapter 7 The Electronic Brigades 147

Chapter 8 The AQ-ISIS War 177

Chapter 9 ISIS'S Psychological Warfare 199

Chapter 10 The Coming Final Battle? 219

Chapter 11 The State of Terror 233

Appendix 257

Afterword 281

Acknowledgments 291

Notes 297

Index 383

Editorial Reviews

Jessica Stern and J.M. Berger’s new book, “ISIS,” should be required reading for every politician and policymaker…Their smart, granular analysis is a bracing antidote to both facile dismissals and wild exaggerations….Stern and Berger offer a nuanced and readable account of the ideological and organizational origins of the group.” — Washington Post

“By far the most important contribution yet to our understanding of an organization that remains cloaked in mystery and misunderstanding . . . A brisk, readable, and eye-opening account of ISIS’s past, present, and future. This is a book every American should read.” — Reza Aslan, author of No God but god and Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth

“A timely and urgent book that is essential reading for analysts and policy makers alike. In what is already a cornerstone contribution, Stern and Berger offer the kind of cold-blood analysis so desperately needed on the poorly understood phenomenon that is the so-called Islamic state.” — John Horgan, author of The Psychology of Terrorism

“The first serious book to analyze the rise of ISIS . . . Stern and Berger write clearly and persuasively and marshal impressive primary research from ISIS’s prodigious propaganda to help explain how ISIS became the dominant jihadi group today. It’s a terrific and important read.” — Peter Bergen, author of Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for Bin Laden from 9/11 to Abbottabad

“Stern and Berger pull back the curtain to expose facts and myths about the violent Salafi apocalyptic cult calling itself the Islamic State. A must-read.” — Mike Walker, former undersecretary and acting secretary of the United States Army

“ISIS emerged in territory occupied by American soldiers, governed by dictatorial regimes, and fought over by sectarian extremists. Stern and Berger provide context for understanding ISIS’s past and considering how its media model may affect future extremist movements.” — Kecia Ali, associate professor religion, Boston University

“A penetrating analysis . . . The book provides important context for an evolving organization and proto-state that is attempting to rewrite the jihadi playbook.” — Aaron Zelin, Washington Institute for Near East Policy

“ISIS: The State of Terror is a timely and important history of a movement that now defines the 21st century.” — Sam Kiley, Evening Standard (London)

“This book should be required reading for every politician and policymaker.” — Washington Post

From the Publisher

Jessica Stern and J.M. Berger’s new book, “ISIS,” should be required reading for every politician and policymaker…Their smart, granular analysis is a bracing antidote to both facile dismissals and wild exaggerations….Stern and Berger offer a nuanced and readable account of the ideological and organizational origins of the group.

Washington Post

ISIS: The State of Terror is a timely and important history of a movement that now defines the 21st century.

Sam Kiley

A penetrating analysis . . . The book provides important context for an evolving organization and proto-state that is attempting to rewrite the jihadi playbook.

Aaron Zelin

A timely and urgent book that is essential reading for analysts and policy makers alike. In what is already a cornerstone contribution, Stern and Berger offer the kind of cold-blood analysis so desperately needed on the poorly understood phenomenon that is the so-called Islamic state.

John Horgan

ISIS emerged in territory occupied by American soldiers, governed by dictatorial regimes, and fought over by sectarian extremists. Stern and Berger provide context for understanding ISIS’s past and considering how its media model may affect future extremist movements.

Kecia Ali

Stern and Berger pull back the curtain to expose facts and myths about the violent Salafi apocalyptic cult calling itself the Islamic State. A must-read.

Mike Walker

By far the most important contribution yet to our understanding of an organization that remains cloaked in mystery and misunderstanding . . . A brisk, readable, and eye-opening account of ISIS’s past, present, and future. This is a book every American should read.

Reza Aslan

The first serious book to analyze the rise of ISIS . . . Stern and Berger write clearly and persuasively and marshal impressive primary research from ISIS’s prodigious propaganda to help explain how ISIS became the dominant jihadi group today. It’s a terrific and important read.

Peter Bergen

This book should be required reading for every politician and policymaker.

Washington Post

One of the most interesting books you?ll ever read on terrorism...an incredibly intriguing widow into the minds of those who use God to justify violence against others.

Boston Globe

Stern’s important book, devoid of sentimentality or sensationalism, brings the reader face-to-face with the realities of global terror and the danger it presents to our way of life. This is essential reading.

Philadelphia Inquirer

Praise for Jessica Stern’s Terror in the Name of God:“No scholar has done more than Jessica Stern to make the phenomenon of terrorism comprehensible.

Michael Ignatieff

2015-03-20
A detailed study of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria from its rise out of al-Qaida to its intended fulfillment of apocalyptic prophecies. Stern (Terrorism Studies/Harvard Univ.; Denial: A Memoir of Terror, 2010, etc.) and Foreign Policy contributor Berger (Jihad Joe: Americans Who Go to War in the Name of Islam, 2011, etc.) begin their treatise on ISIS with the same iconic image most Westerners associate with the group: the beheading of a civilian, kneeling on the ground in an orange jumpsuit. From there, the authors track not only the origins of the terrorist organization, but their growth, media campaigns, mindset, and goals, as well as the far-reaching ramifications of the group's tactics. The authors separate these aspects of ISIS into different chapters, a structure that is helpful but also causes some repetition. Stern and Berger often reference specific anecdotes or historical points multiple times, with included notes to see another chapter for more information. Chapters on social media contain important analysis and insightful points about ISIS and terrorist organizations in general, but they include so much detail about the technology that they will likely exasperate tech-savvy readers. Still, Stern and Berger provide a wealth of useful information, from a clarification of how the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq helped to create the perfect ISIS breeding ground to a demonstration of the way government and corporate policies influence the fight against the organization. In an appendix, the authors deliver a brief, easy-to-digest history of Islam and its practices (and abuses), ensuring that readers are at least somewhat familiar with the basic tenets, splits, and specific groups most prone to jihad. They also include a glossary and timeline, beginning with the declaration of war against Iraq in March 2003. Despite being dense reading, this book offers much to learn about ISIS and an expanded understanding of current events.

Kirkus Reviews