Seductions of the Caliphate: a cultural criminological analysis of online islamic state propaganda
Seductions of the Caliphate: a cultural criminological analysis of online islamic state propaganda
The Islamic State is an impenetrable world; what we know is what propagandists want us to see, and, over the past four years, the Islamic State has developed not only as orchestrators and performers of attacks, but also as professional storytellers, setting out to hijack the popular culture of the west and seduce its youth. The Islamic State has successfully industrialised its propaganda machine, and is thus now deemed to possess a more powerful propaganda
apparatus than that seen in Nazi Germany (Aly et al, 2017). The research presented here took an interpretivist epistemological approach, utilising qualitative data-gathering techniques, embedded within grounded theory (Corbin & Strauss, 2015). Methodologically, this study incorporates non-participant observation of online spaces, and a semiotic content analysis of
100 propaganda videos, in order to explore the visual persuasiveness of terrorist imagery, and, more importantly, the subcultural elements of radicalisation evident within Islamic State propaganda. By stripping away the Islamic State’s exhortative veneer, this research has effectively exposed its propaganda, and identified the themes of seduction, grievance, utopia, military warfare, and
theatrical displays of violence, all of which serve as powerful recruitment strategies, and add tangible power to an ever expanding jihadist organisation. A key finding of this study shows that one of the perverse successes of the Islamic State is that, with each video released, it finds a way continually to escalate the violence, and depict seductive images of power, comradery,
and an ascendency of brotherhood that legitimise power and sadism in the name of a higher goal. Ultimately this research argues that Islamic State propaganda bears resemblance to a medieval reality show, in which the media is as much as part of the jihad, as the jihad itself, and its most effective recruitment tool is its own seductive savagery.
https://www.internetjournalofcriminology.com/_files/ugd/b93dd4_990f66a56f064179990215b0f7238b5d.pdf
1-57
Kingdon, Ashton
c432a21d-9395-47d2-bc34-1ee77f63bc5c
31 May 2017
Kingdon, Ashton
c432a21d-9395-47d2-bc34-1ee77f63bc5c
Kingdon, Ashton
(2017)
Seductions of the Caliphate: a cultural criminological analysis of online islamic state propaganda.
Internet Journal of Criminology, .
(https://www.internetjournalofcriminology.com/_files/ugd/b93dd4_990f66a56f064179990215b0f7238b5d.pdf).
Abstract
The Islamic State is an impenetrable world; what we know is what propagandists want us to see, and, over the past four years, the Islamic State has developed not only as orchestrators and performers of attacks, but also as professional storytellers, setting out to hijack the popular culture of the west and seduce its youth. The Islamic State has successfully industrialised its propaganda machine, and is thus now deemed to possess a more powerful propaganda
apparatus than that seen in Nazi Germany (Aly et al, 2017). The research presented here took an interpretivist epistemological approach, utilising qualitative data-gathering techniques, embedded within grounded theory (Corbin & Strauss, 2015). Methodologically, this study incorporates non-participant observation of online spaces, and a semiotic content analysis of
100 propaganda videos, in order to explore the visual persuasiveness of terrorist imagery, and, more importantly, the subcultural elements of radicalisation evident within Islamic State propaganda. By stripping away the Islamic State’s exhortative veneer, this research has effectively exposed its propaganda, and identified the themes of seduction, grievance, utopia, military warfare, and
theatrical displays of violence, all of which serve as powerful recruitment strategies, and add tangible power to an ever expanding jihadist organisation. A key finding of this study shows that one of the perverse successes of the Islamic State is that, with each video released, it finds a way continually to escalate the violence, and depict seductive images of power, comradery,
and an ascendency of brotherhood that legitimise power and sadism in the name of a higher goal. Ultimately this research argues that Islamic State propaganda bears resemblance to a medieval reality show, in which the media is as much as part of the jihad, as the jihad itself, and its most effective recruitment tool is its own seductive savagery.
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Published date: 31 May 2017
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Local EPrints ID: 467324
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/467324
DOI: https://www.internetjournalofcriminology.com/_files/ugd/b93dd4_990f66a56f064179990215b0f7238b5d.pdf
ISSN: 2045-6743
PURE UUID: 48aa5a35-5ee3-4541-b894-9901cef1907c
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Date deposited: 06 Jul 2022 16:32
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 04:07
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