Global Ambitions: The Rise of Islamic State Affiliates and Countering Expansion

Abstract

Since IS announced its caliphate in 2014, it has been posing challenges to those trying to counter the organization. One new challenge this organization is posing to policy-makers is the rise of IS affiliates. This paper will examine the increase and prevalence of IS affiliates linking them to IS’ sophisticated expansion strategy. Further, IS affiliates enable it to expand its reach and further destabilize countries by exploiting governance vacuums and making local conflicts more deadly. The U.S.-led Coalition to “degrade and destroy” IS has only just begun to factor affiliates into strategies to counter the organization. Therefore, affiliates have indeed exposed gaps in current counter-IS doctrine. Most important being that airstrikes and training missions can serve to roll back IS but does not begin to solve the problem of affiliates. Moving forward it is recommended that the Coalition focus on the following strategies to counter IS-affiliates: severing the link between the organization and its affiliates; improving local security forces; disaggregation; and, improving political and governance structures. Though some of these strategies have been utilized in core territory in Iraq and Syria, the Coalition could certainly look to expand its current mandate into affiliate regions to counter the new threat.