The Caliphate at War

‘Pulling together speeches, other documents, and first-hand journalistic accounts, Hashim describes in detail the genesis of the group in Iraq … assembl[ing] interesting statistics on how they governed.’ – The New York Review of Books‘This a powerful account of the unique circumstances that bred and nurtured ISIS. Using primary sources and deep personal experience, Ahmed S. Hashim has brilliantly explained the ideology, organisation, war-fighting, and state-building enterprises of ISIS. I believe his book will become the definitive source on the ISIS group’s creation, evolution, and the Iraqi experience and personalities that differentiate it from other jihadist groups.’ – Michael W. S. Ryan, Senior Fellow at The Jamestown Foundation, and author of ‘Decoding Al-Qaeda’s Strategy: The Deep Battle against America’‘Ahmed Hashim continues to produce timely and profound insights on the landscapes of global terror. The Caliphate at War is essential reading on the genesis, structure and operations of ISIS, the most violent and destructive of all the contemporary jihadist movements.’ – Ali Allawi, author, ‘The Occupation of Iraq’ and Minister of Trade, Defence and Finance, Iraq, 2003-2006‘Ahmed Hashim has written a detailed and coherent account of the origins of the Islamic State and the reasons for its rise and fall. This is an excellent book for anyone wishing to deepen their understanding of the divisions in Iraqi society and why they will continue to foster such movements, even following the demise of the Caliphate.’ – Richard Barrett CMG OBE, former Director of Global Counter Terrorism Operations for the British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS)‘Pulling together speeches, other documents, and firsthand journalistic accounts, Hashim describes in detail the genesis of IS in Iraq, including the rift between the upstart caliphate and al-Qaeda, the first global jihadist movement.’ – New York Review of Books

Ahmed Hashim is Associate Professor of Strategic Studies at RSIS at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. He has published extensively on insurgency and counterinsurgency, his most recent book being ‘When Counterinsurgency Wins: Sri Lanka’s Defeat of the Tamil Tigers’ (2013).