Working Paper 169

Title
The Authority of the Islamic State

Author
Christoph Günther and Tom Kaden

Department
Department ‘Integration and Conflict’

Year of publication
2016

Number of pages
24

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Working Paper 169

Abstract
This paper provides an analysis of the sources of authority that the Islamic State employs locally and globally in order to further the establishment of a worldwide caliphate. To allow for a more comprehensive understanding of the propositions the Islamic State makes towards its audiences, we argue that it can be regarded as a sociopolitical movement and a de facto state with different sources of authority and means of power pertaining to each. Both realms of authority guarantee and reinforce each other, thus providing the Islamic State with a stability that is often overlooked in public debates about its prospects.