Media International Association book review Girl Power p.167

The initial rise of Militant Jihadism can be traced to the brutal suppression of the anticolonial intel-lectual Islamic movement by the Arabic nationalist governments in the 50’s and 60’s. A new Idea of an Islamic militarism evolved in the prisons of the Nasser-regime in Egypt with the aim to establish the kingdom of god on earth. With the humiliation of the Nasser-regime and the Arabic nationalist movements in the Yom Kippur War, this ideology fell on sympathetic ears, and its membership grew with the success of the military Jihad in the soviet-Afghan war in the late 80’s. Since then the Idea of militant Jihad showed many faces and occurred under different names. “IS” or the “Islamic State”, is only one of several names referring to a newest face of the militant Jihadist movement, headed by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. As of now it controls approximately one-third of northern Syria and Iraq. IS has distinguished itself by its ability to attract foreign, especially Western, fighters to its cause through sophisticated use of media. They evolved from a gang fighting a war of attrition to a serious geopolitical player, thanks to a strategy of marketing and branding that exploits cutting edge media. This paper aims to explore the brand of the “Islamic state” as an exceptional narrative which allures a young generation of IS recruits and their ways of distribution through the so called “new media”.

International Journal of Communication

Marketing Theory, 2009

Public speculation has turned to how terrorists are made. One increasingly attributed source is propaganda (see , the 'propaganda of the deed' -physical violence -but also the audio-visual. Terrorism is a language of symbolic action: in the choice of the victims, in the choice of terrorist act, the drama created and the various official responses sought. We are in a new era, when the terrorist act does not simply speak for itself via its symbolism, but is amplified through a vast constellation of modern media. We explore the symbolism inherent in the construction of specially selected Islamist audio-visual propaganda made available on the internet today and seek to access the 'meaning' of terrorist visualities through semiotic analysis, particularly using the Positioning Triad and the deconstruction technique to encourage a new thread of political marketing/propaganda research. We conclude that a common theme projected in our sample appears to be that of the West as permanent aggressor, with Muslims depicted as piously aggrieved for the wrongs done unto them.

Modern insurgencies have embraced traditional and social media platforms as a means to spread their messages, recruit followers and conduct acts of terrorism. Recent professional assessments of these groups suggest insurgencies’ approach to communications/public relations are organized, professional and strategic. This paper defines insurgencies within the context of radical activists and reviews their information environment through a media content analysis in the days surrounding the November 2015 attacks on Paris. Findings suggest that within the definition of radical activists, insurgencies engage in clearly defined strategies and tactics that have allowed them to evolve beyond powerless stakeholders warranting further study of their public relations practices to better understand how militaries can combat them in both traditional and information battlespaces. Keywords: Insurgent, radical activists, terrorists, tactics, strategies, public relations, ISIS, ISIL, Paris, al Qaeda, insurgent media, information battlespace

More than a military confrontation, the fight against terrorism is being played in the realm of communication and it involves ideas, values, and perceptions. Official counterterrorism documents and research on radicalization identify a terrorist narrative being strategically deployed by al-Qaida to fuel extremism and attract new recruits. In this context some suggest that the most effective way for Western democracies to counter terrorism is by developing a credible counter-narrative. The article develops the argument that the concept of narrative is more complex than a simple story. It can be useful in understanding the way strategic narratives, while promoted by specific actors to achieve desired objectives, keep on existing through a collective construction and re-telling process. A strategic narrative can be conceptualized for analytical purposes as a brand, particularly in terms of measuring the extent to which the narrative varies across countries and terrorist groups, over time, and in the mind of audiences. A greater understanding of the social construction of strategic narratives can inform a better assessment of what is feasible in the war of ideas against al-Qaida.

Witnesses to Terror, 2012

Modern insurgencies have embraced traditional and social media platforms as a means to spread their messages, recruit followers and conduct acts of terrorism. Recent professional assessments of these groups suggest insurgencies’ approach to communications/public relations are organized, professional and strategic. This paper defines insurgencies within the context of radical activists and reviews their information environment through a media content analysis in the days surrounding the November 2015 attacks on Paris. Findings suggest that within the definition of radical activists, insurgencies engage in clearly defined strategies and tactics that have allowed them to evolve beyond powerless stakeholders warranting further study of their public relations practices to better understand how militaries can combat them in both traditional and information battlespaces. Keywords: Insurgent, radical activists, terrorists, tactics, strategies, public relations, ISIS, ISIL, Paris, al Qaeda, insurgent media, information battlespace