Global Jihad: Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State’s Struggle for Power and Global Dominance

Abstract

Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State are engaged in a global competition against the West, Muslim regimes, and others for power and influence while also competing with each other to lead the Salafi-jihadi movement. They have expanded territorially and strengthened on the ground even as Western counterterrorism operations reduced their terrorism threat and eliminated key leaders, and they stand to benefit from easing global counterterrorism pressure. Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State have taken advantage of conditions exacerbated by the responses to the COVID-19 pandemic to gain influence within communities despite Muslims’ widespread rejection of the Salafi-jihadi ideology. Yet the groups disagree on the strategic approach to achieving their aims, exposing an ongoing ideological discourse within the Salafi-jihadi movement, and contest each other’s claim to be the vanguard for Islam. The primary battlefield between al-Qaeda and the Islamic State is now Afghanistan, where the Taliban and al-Qaeda have celebrated their victory—a victory the Islamic State dismisses as hollow. The Taliban’s successes in Afghanistan strengthen al-Qaeda globally as proof of an effective strategy and will inspire other Salafi-jihadi groups to follow a similar path. Moreover, the overall shift in counterterrorism will reinforce a shift toward waging global jihad at the local level.

Read more in the Routledge Handbook of Transnational Terrorism here.