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Why ISIS is Winning

April 19, 2017December 19, 2018Middle East, public diplomacy11 Comments

isisfighters — Islamic State of Iraq and Syria fighters marching Raqqa, Syria. Source

With an estimated 27,000 foreign fighters joining the Islamic State and its cause, one can’t help but wonder: what is the driving force behind the support? This article aims to provide an answer, as well as a solution to the underlying problem.

What is ISIS?

For those who are unfamiliar with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), its major debut happened in 2014, when the Islamic State successfully captured key Iraqi cities, defeated Iraqi government forces, and proclaimed itself as a worldwide Caliphate. Ever since then, there has been a massive push by the Islamic State towards its ultimate goal – the apocalypse.

Contrary to popular belief, ISIS follows a strict medieval form of Islam , which is why it practices very extreme war tactics like crucifixions, beheadings, and slavery. In the Islamic State’s interpretation of the Koran, the apocalypse will bring an end of the world. The prophesy also reads that a reestablished God’s Kingdom on Earth, the Caliphate, will fight a decisive battle at Dabiq against the infidels, where Jesus will join the Caliphate and end the war.

While most ISIS recruits come from the immediate territories captured by ISIS, i.e. Iraq and Syria, the Islamic State has a very sophisticated recruitment system in place that draws supporters from around the world.

Recruitment Methods

Islamic State uses sophisticated propaganda tactics to persuade potential recruits and promote their cause. ISIS targets specific groups of people and uses tailored media for different parts of the world. Dabiq, now Rumiyah, is a magazine in English, which caters to English speaking audience, while Dar Al-Islam does the same for French speakers, and Istok for Russian speakers. By diversifying its media, ISIS can influence its targets with regionally-relevant propaganda, which has stronger effect then general propaganda does.

From propaganda videos, to infographics, to extensive social media campaigns, and even a news channel – every piece of propaganda ISIS creates is top quality. By creating visually appealing propaganda that reflects popular media – like video games, TV shows, and pop culture – ISIS is reaching a wide audience and successfully communicating its ideas in a very powerful way.

ISIS associates terrorism with positive ideas and thoughts, and in its methods, uses terror to seduce, not terrorize. Since modern age audience is so susceptible to action and violence, it’s also susceptible to Islamic State’s media.

Vulnerability

Now, why does the Islamic State make such a great effort to target Muslims across the globe? Short answer: it is easy to influence people who do not feel accepted in society.

You see, Islamic terrorism is all about polarization.

In its propaganda campaigns, the Islamic State targets minority Muslims, who have been oppressed by society. That is also the reason regionally-catered propaganda is so effective.

https://akirk.carto.com/viz/9694dcca-353e-11e5-8d22-0e0c41326911/embed_map

The map above shows estimated statistics on foreign recruits who had joined the Islamic State. By using that data, the percentage of recruits who joined ISIS out of total Muslim population can be derived.

As it is evident from the graph, it is striking that it is countries with a minority Muslim population that have the greatest percentage of fighters joining the Islamic State. This is caused by the pressure the society puts on Muslims. By alienating the Muslim population in Muslim minority countries, great tension is created. Muslims do not feel welcome, feel underrepresented, discriminated against, and seek ways to be recognized. ISIS propaganda acts on those vulnerabilities making people believe in an ideal society, where they feel welcome and valued.

On the other hand, there is a much lower percentage of Muslims joining the Islamic State from Muslim majority countries. Again, same principles are applied here: Muslims do not feel alienated, undervalued, or underrepresented. They have a voice in their government, are involved in political, social, or even their own radical groups. There is no reason for them to join ISIS unless they truly believe in the cause.

The Islamic State propaganda targets Muslims who lack a sense of unity, and the statistics prove that ISIS tactics are working.

Residents of Iraq and Syria are a bit of a different story, since they felt oppressed by their governments and ISIS promised to raise their quality of life. Since Iraq and Syria are zones of current conflict, it’s much more difficult to gauge residents’ reasons for joining the Islamic State, but judging by the sheer number of refugees fleeing from those countries, it is easy to say that ISIS is not that popular in Iraq and Syria.

Solution

To undermine ISIS recruitment efforts, Muslims, overall, need to be treated fairly. If Muslim minorities got the treatment they deserve, there would be no need for violence and extremism. By creating anti-Muslim policies and by alienating the religion, radical responses are created.

By incorporating Muslims into society through public office, cultural exchange programs, clubs, and sports teams, the sense of undervalue decreases. People who once were angry with the way Muslims were treated, felt alone, or felt segregated against, will have less of a need to join a radical organization – they will feel like their voice is finally heard.

Speaking of being heard, instead of shunning away refugees, give them a voice and safety they try to obtain. If refugees share their first-hand experiences with the Caliphate and with ISIS, many will realize how different the reality is from an image ISIS is trying to sell.

Caveat: The views expressed in this blog are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Institute for Public Diplomacy and Global Communication or the George Washington University.

When Public Diplomacy Is a Bad Joke: The importance of in-groups and out-groups to the successful use of humor by diplomats

December 1, 2016July 9, 2020Cultural Diplomacy, Global Communication, in the field, IPDGC, public diplomacy, Social Media, Youth1 Comment

640px-secretary_kerry_jokes_about_his_height_standing_with_kenyan_president_uhuru_kenyatta_at_the_state_house_in_nairobi_28534132883 — Secretary of State John Kerry jokes with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta | State House, Nairobi | August 22, 2016 | Photo credit: U.S. Department of State

Derision is a complicated thing. At its most sophomoric, derision is little more than blowing raspberries on the playground – good for a laugh at someone’s expense but without much of a point. When given proper thought and execution, though, derision can deliver persuasive satire or charming self-deprecation, both of which bond audience and humorist closer together.

While diplomats use humor regularly to engage foreign audiences, often with successful results, there is little study of its use as a public diplomacy tool. Unfortunately, there is no formal understanding of the strategic use of humor when engaging foreign audiences. As a result, we see some nightmares when humor is poorly applied. When a diplomat’s joke bombs, the risk of real bombs is greater than when a new stand-up chokes at Comedy Works. It’s like Bono pleading with the UN to send a CVE-comedy task-force to Syria – we seem to know that there’s something there, but we just can’t quite grasp how to harness it.

Let’s talk about the failures of derision in public diplomacy. The most glaring example is “Think Again, Turn Away,” a counter-terrorism effort so poorly conceived that even our own comedians mocked it. In 2013, the Global Engagement Center from the U.S. Department of State launched the video “Think Again, Turn Away” on YouTube, intending to reach the same young audience that ISIS targeted online for recruitment. It wasn’t long before people realized that the snark-filled, sardonic PSA was utterly tone-deaf.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3VDDbh5dXw&w=560&h=315]

The team that produced “Think Again, Turn Away” undoubtedly understands the situation in ISIS-occupied territories better than most. They just don’t know comedy.

For every joke, there is an in-group and an out-group. These groups may be defined as those who get the joke and those who don’t, or along the classic laughing with/laughing at split. Derision especially lends itself to this split, more so than other comedic styles. Creating distinct in-groups and out-groups can reinforce or undermine existing narratives, depending on how those groups are framed.

Think of it this way: Everyone has a story in their head that tells them who they are. That’s our identity narrative. We have stories about our place in that world. We call those system narratives. In every narrative, there is a protagonist (the in-group) and an antagonist (the out-group). Generally, people like to be the protagonists of their own stories. We make this happen by aligning our identity narratives and system narratives in such a way that we belong to the in-group throughout. So, if we hear a different narrative, perhaps in the form of a joke, that recasts us as members of the out-group, we will reject that narrative. Not only that, we’ll likely cast whoever shared that narrative as a member of the out-group in our own narratives.

Here is a narrative map for a typical ISIS recruit, based on research on ISIS target messaging:

	Identity Narrative	System Narrative
ISIS Recruit	Young, over-educated & underemployed, an outsider (perceived or actual) of mainstream society, destined to and/or worthy of greatness	Living in a society that is hostile towards identity, unjust, limited opportunities to advance; the West is keeping true believers down, only the caliphate is righteous

“Think Again, Turn Away” tries to undermine the “righteous caliphate” narrative by using sarcasm to cast ISIS in the out-group. However, the video fails to draw the potential recruits into its in-group. Therefore, it’s mockery only reinforces the theme of separation between recruits and the West present in both narrative levels.

So, if we hear a different narrative, perhaps in the form of a joke, that recasts us as members of the out-group, we will reject that narrative. Not only that, we’ll likely cast whoever shared that narrative as a member of the out-group in our own narratives.

Understanding the dynamics of in-groups and out-groups isn’t just good comedy – it’s good communication. Philip Seib says that successful communication is always audience based and ties into the narratives of that audience’s socio-political context. Obviously, “Think Again, Turn Away” is not audience based. Rather than embrace its target audience, clearly marking themselves as being “on the same team,” or both part of the in-group, the narrator mocks the ideological society that said audience expressed interest in joining. That is why the video targets its specified audience, after all. By mocking the group with which the audience has already identified, even superficially, it casts both in the out-group, cementing the audience’s allegiance to the butt of the joke.

One might have done less damage trying to sincerely persuade potential recruits to join ISIS. John Oliver points out that the State Department is “banking a lot on any potential militants understanding that [“Think Again, Turn Away”] is sarcasm,” the implication being that the intended audience won’t get the joke. Alternatively, the audience might understand the joke, but doesn’t find it the least bit funny. Either way, the video reinforces extremist messaging by squarely casting the audience in the out-group.

Whether or not potential recruits have the capacity or inclination to “appreciate” the video’s try at sarcasm, humans respond to humor cognitively and emotionally. No one likes being mocked; it makes us feel bad. You learned this blowing raspberries on the playground. When the audience you are trying to reach is also the butt of your joke, you have missed the point.

The views expressed here are the author’s only and do no necessarily represent those of George Washington University.

Peer-to-Peer: Challenging Extremism [Event Recap]

September 29, 2016public diplomacy, Social Media, YouthLeave a Comment

Peer-to-Peer: Challenging Extremism (P2P) is an innovative program that removes a hierarchical government approach to digital youth outreach. It does so by providing the resources for university students to creatively implement localized solutions that reach the target demographic: their own age group using their own preferred online platforms. On the International Day of Peace, September 21, regional winners from the U.S., Finland, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Netherlands, presented their creative digital outreach campaigns in New York City to encourage moderation and integration in communities plagued by online extremism, prejudice, and hate.

Keynote speakers from co-hosts Facebook, U.S. Department of State, and EdVenture Partners highlighted the rapid growth of the international P2P competition and ingenuity of the students. The program’s 250 universities across 60 countries have students work with $400 in Facebook Ad Credits and $2,000 budget for academic credit to research a target audience and then create a digital media initiative, tool, or product to counter online extremism. Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, Richard Stengel, described the program as the “model for public-private partnerships at State. We love this program because we get out of the way.” Head of Product Policy at Facebook, Monika Bickert, said the local and global campaigns are so inspiring because the students are responding to their environment, and they can thus develop effective solutions. Under Secretary Stengel reinforced this critical need to act upon understanding by elaborating on his media experience, “as a journalist, when I asked the wrong question, I got the wrong answer.” The following are brief summaries of how each winning team answered the “right” answer with their innovative solutions, with further details on their campaign sites.

fullsizerender-7 — Under Secretary of State Richard Stengel addresses a full room, photo by author.

All teams presented their strategic off and online, peer-driven campaigns that detailed design, implementation, and results. New York University’s conflict studies Masters students focused on diversity and integration processes based on teammates’ experiences feeling vulnerable as outsiders. They described how their campaigns evolved from the #7TrainStop on immigrants in Queens, into the Voices of New York Resolve on countering hate in Brooklyn, which will now focus on radicalization in Bronx prisons. The team has collaborated with local and international organizations to mutually support countering extremism goals, such as garnering 43, 831 Facebook views and 384,340 Youtube views on BuzzFeed-released, “When Hate Speech Comes to Campus.” [#7TrainStop]

The Turku School of Economics [Finland] and Utrecht University [Netherlands] concentrated on refugee integration. The Finnish team created a mobile application that addressed the ~1,000% increase in asylum-seekers entering Finland from 2014 to 2015. They identified four major problems refugees face: Lack of information on the city and country; Lack of contact with locals; Lack of activities in the reception center; and negative attitudes among the local population. Interestingly, these challenges are similar to those new students may encounter when moving to Turku. The team designed multimedia events to increase locals’ awareness, interest, and opinion of newcomers. “United by Food” was a day-long pop-up for refugees to sell food from their home country. “About Turku” made city information accessible by transforming pre-existing records into a free mobile download in Arabic and English. The Dutch team tackled the heated European political climate in “#DareToBeGrey: An Alternative to the Black & White Fallacy.” They created a humorous online series to raise awareness that it is possible to have a moderate stance on refugee intake. The online efforts combined with their recent five-city Dutch tour have reached over eight million people. Both campaigns give agency to Europeans and refugees through multimedia. [Choose Your Future] [#DareToBeGrey]

fullsizerender-8 — Lahore University of Management Sciences team, photo by author.

The Pakistani and Afghan teams focused on dispelling misuses of politicized Islam. The Afghan team from Laal-u-Anar Foundation identified TV and Facebook as the most wide-reaching outlets to defend their religion in #IslamSaysNoToExtremism while sharing Quranic verses that reinforced peacemaking messages. The Lahore University of Management Sciences project, “Fate: From Apathy to Empathy,” highlighted comprehensive programs to re-incentivize Pakistanis who felt they were “just a number” in the destruction and deaths from violent extremism. They countered the apathy by organizing concerts, tours, video games, activism workshops, and education programs to empower and humanize citizens. Both teams cite youth activation through media campaigns to promote moderate Islam to various demographics, as well as calling attention to a narrowing window of opportunity for effective counter-extremism. [International Strategic Studies] [Fate]

Event host, Dean Obeidallah, concluded by reinforcing the magnitude of violent extremism in Asia, explaining that “over 90% of victims of ISIL and al-Qaeda are Muslims, but the U.S. media doesn’t cover it so Americans don’t know.” Mr. Obeidallah paraphrased Robert F. Kennedy to encourage youth to recognize their potential and collaborate because “few of us alone can change and bend history, but together, collectively, we can write a narrative of our generation.” Indeed, a compelling, accessible narrative needs to be solidified to effectively counter various forms of extremism around the world, and the P2P program is leading the way.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JilJithBoFU&w=560&h=315]