As Terrorism Evolves Media, Religion, and Governance

Some of the world's most lethal terrorist organizations have become media-centric enterprises, while also hijacking a major world religion, holding large swathes of physical territory, and governing their own virtual states. In this concise and penetrating book, Seib traces how terrorism has proliferated and increased significantly in menace in the relatively brief period between the rise of al-Qaeda and the creation of Islamic State. With close attention to the linkages between media, religion, and violence, the book offers incisive analysis of how organizations such as Islamic State, al-Qaeda, and Boko Haram operate and reflects on how terrorism may continue to evolve. Seib argues that twenty-first-century terrorism is enabled by new media and depends on social networks as connective tissue, while interacting simultaneously with religion and socio-economic and political grievances. As Terrorism Evolves prescribes new measures for counterterrorism efforts, underscores the importance of soft power, and makes a strong case for recognizing that we have entered an era of terrorism of undetermined duration.

Preface; Introduction; 1. The nature of the beast; 2. In God's name; 3. Organizing terrorism; 4. Media weaponry; 5. What lies ahead?; Selected bibliography; Index.

Philip Seib is one of the world's leading authorities on the intersection of media and foreign policy. A frequent visitor to the Middle East, he has examined Arab politics in books such as The Al Jazeera Effect (2008) and Real-Time Diplomacy (2012). Seib is Professor of Journalism, Public Diplomacy, and International Relations at the University of Southern California, and was named International Communication Distinguished Scholar by the International Studies Association. He is author and editor of more than two dozen books and writes frequently for Huffington Post about terrorism and international politics. His interest in terrorism was piqued when he found himself just 40 miles from Mosul as that city was being seized by Islamic State in 2014.