Honors Theses
Date of Award
2015
Document Type
Undergraduate Thesis
Department
Croft Institute for International Studies
First Advisor
Vivian Ibrahim
Relational Format
Dissertation/Thesis
Abstract
On June 29, 2014, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi officially declared the Islamic State in the Sham (ISIS) as an Islamic Caliphate, and consequently renamed his organization the Islamic State (IS). Over the course of 2014, the IS rose to garner significant international attention, which heightened following direct US military intervention in August 2014 in the form of airstrikes against the IS's targets located in Iraq. Determining if the IS qualifies as a state, from a US perspective, holds significant ramifications for future military and diplomatic interactions with this organization. This analysis brings to light the ongoing issues with appropriately and objectively defining statehood. Additionally, it demonstrates shortcomings in US military doctrine on fighting state and non-state actors on both strategic and tactical levels. Examining the IS's political, military and economic activities from October 2006 to August 2014 serves the dual purpose of evaluating how closely the IS resembles a state and, determining its potential for becoming a state in the future.
Recommended Citation
Zook, Leigh Anne, "To be, or not to be-Statehood is the Question: Analyzing the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq" (2015). Honors Theses. 580.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/580
Accessibility Status
Searchable text
Comments
A thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for completion of the Bachelor of Arts degree in International Studies from the Croft Institute for International Studies and the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College.