Isis Propaganda: A Full-Spectrum Extremist Message

This book offers a comprehensive overview and analysis of the Islamic State’s use of propaganda. Combining a range of different theoretical perspectives from across the social sciences, and using rigorous methods, the authors trace the origins of the Islamic State’s message, laying bare the strategic logic guiding its evolution, examining each of its multi-media components, and showing how these elements work together to radicalize audiences’ worldviews. This volume highlights the challenges that this sort of ＂full-spectrum propaganda＂ raises for counter terrorism forces. It is not only a one-stop resource for any analyst of IS and Salafi-jihadism, but also a rich contribution to the study of text and visual propaganda, radicalization and political violence, and international security.

Stephane J. Baele is Senior Lecturer in International Relations and Security at the University of Exeter, where he is deputy director of the Centre for Advanced International Studies. His research focuses on the role of language and images in political violence, from a multidisciplinary and mixed-methods perspective. He also conducts research on International Relations theories and research ethics.

Katharine A. Boyd is Senior Lecturer in Criminology at the University of Exeter and an academic staff member of Exeter’s Q-Step Centre, which works to train and promote quantitative methods among social science students. She is the Criminology Program Director and a member of the Policing Evidence Group at the University of Exeter. Her research covers terrorism and policing violence (domestic abuse and use of force), as well as evidence-based policy.

Travis G. Coan is Senior Lecturer in Quantitative Politics at the University of Exeter. He is co-director of the Exeter Q-Step Centre, an interdisciplinary center focusing on quantitative social science, and he holds academic affiliations with the Centre for Elections, Media, and Parties and the Institute of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence at the University of Exeter. While Dr. Coan has published on a wide-range of topics, his core research examines questions in the areas of political and environmental communication.