Jihadi online media try to mobilize, recruit, and disseminate the messages of jihadi subcultures. Understanding the mechanisms and structures of the products of these online media is essential for understanding jihadism in general. Original research into visual representations of jihadi media outlets, the subtleties of jihadi videos, the specific ways jihadis use Islamic religious language, into jihadi poetry, and the ways jihadis stage their concepts in videos of kangaroo trials is presented in this volume. Jihadis as part of the imaginary of global media production is another aspect of representations of jihadism described in one of the contributions.

The internet offers tremendous opportunities for violent extremists across the ideological spectrum and at a global level. In addition to propaganda, digital technologies have transformed the dynamics of radical mobilisation, recruitment and participation. Even though the jihadist threat has seemingly declined in the West, the danger exists of the internet being an environment where radical messages can survive and even prosper. Against this background, this ISPI report investigates the current landscape of jihadist online communication, including original empirical analysis. Specific attention is also placed on potential measures and initiatives to address the threat of online violent extremism. The volume aims to present important points for reflection on the phenomenon in the West (including Italy) and beyond.

Introduction -- Terrorism and Language -- Collecting and Analysing Extremist Texts -- The In-group -- The Out-group -- The Path of Jihad -- Linguistic Strategies -- Conclusion.

Changes in Jihadi Discourse in the Wake of the "Islamic State" explores how the transnational jihadi discourse changed with the development of the "Islamic State" terrorist group and resulted in the fragmentation of the jihadi movement. From the Middle East, through Africa to South East Asia, today’s jihadi movement is more fragmented than ever. Al-Qaida and the "Islamic State" compete not only with each other but also with local jihadi groups. Despite the fact that, in the wake of the "Islamic State", international jihadi groups are in fierce competition for supporters, little has been said on how the process of competition as well as external events changed the ideology of these groups and the topics relevant to them. Countering dominant research focusing on the differences between jihadi strains, this book explores how the appearance and temporary strength of the "Islamic State" changed the topics and talking points of other jihadi actors, such as al-Qaida. By analyzing primary sources in Arabic and English, the author sheds light on the inner- and inter-jihadi discourse and its development over the years. The book does not simply describe changes in topics; it traces these changes quantitatively and relates them to external events. This book is aimed at academics, researchers, and postgraduate students interested in political science, security studies, jihadism, jihadi discourse, al-Qaida, "Islamic State", and Salafism, as well as practitioners and decision-makers in government agencies who wish to understand how transnational jihadi discourse has developed over the previous two decades.

This book explores the online strategies and presence of Salafi-Jihadi actors in the Nordic as well as the international context. Global Salafi-jihadism has been at the epicentre of international focus during the past decade. This book explores how the Swedish and other Nordic Salafi-jihadist sympathisers have used social digital media to radicalise, recruit, and propagate followers in relation to foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs) and online communities. The chapters in this volume unpack different perspectives of Salafi-jihadi communications strategies, as well as how the international Salafi-jihadi community has constantly reconfigured and adapted to changing security conditions. The case studies of the Nordics constitute a microcosm of wider Salafi-jihadi narratives in relation to the rise and fall of the Islamic State’s so-called ‘digital caliphate’. This book will be of much interest to students of terrorism studies, counter-extremism and counter-terrorism, social media and security studies.

Al-Qaida and Islamic State continue to captivate the world with their extreme violence. While much attention has been given to the operations and doctrines of jihadi groups, this is the first book to explore their culture. Using a wealth of primary sources, the authors examine what goes on inside these organizations and what daily life is like for the foot-soldiers. They show that Islamist militants have a rich aesthetic culture and do much more than fight and train. Life in a jihadi group is in fact filled with poetry and music, and fighters spend time on surprising things like dream interpretation and weeping. Readers will discover an entirely new perspective on radical Islamists: that despite their reputation as macho men, they value humility, artistic sensitivity, and displays of emotion. Cultural practices are essential for understanding the jihadi worldview and may shed important new light on decision-making and recruitment processes in extremist groups. This original book will interest anyone in academia, government, or the general public who is intrigued by the appeal and resilience of the jihadi movement.

This book offers a multifaceted, analytical account of counterterrorism argumentative speech. Traditionally, existing scholarship in this field of research has taken a selective focus on issues and actors, concentrating mainly on US state discourse after 9/11. However, this approach ignores the fact that there was counterterrorism speech before 9/11, and that there are other countries and other actors who also actively engage in the counterterrorism discursive field, both within and outside of the Western world. Addressing several thematic, chronological and methodological gaps in the current literature, Arguing Counterterrorism offers a dynamic perspective on counterterrorism argumentative speech. Over the course of the volume, the authors tackle the following key issues: first, historical and cultural continuity and change. Second, the phenomenology of counterterrorism speech: its nature, instrumentalisation, implications and interactions between the various actors involved. The third theme is the anatomy of counterterrorism speech; namely its political, cultural and linguistic constitutive elements. Employing a multi-disciplinary framework, the authors explore these issues through a geographically and historically diverse range of case studies, resulting in a book that broadens the perspective of counterterrorism argumentation analysis. This book will be of much interest to students of critical terrorism studies, counterterrorism, discourse analysis, security studies and IR.