伊斯兰国的军事胜利彻底颠覆了中东的地缘政治版图。媒体的注意力几乎完全集中在伊斯兰国野蛮对待敌人及其吸引外国武装分子的能力上。2011年，美国和伊拉克军队挫败了在伊拉克建立伊斯兰国的第一次努力。从2014年开始的第二次自我确立尝试取得了相当大的成功，这一成功需要进行更深入的调查。
为了解释伊斯兰国的成功，哈里发王朝在战争中对叛乱、意识形态和治理方面的重大创新进行了冷静而客观的描述。通过将意识形态首先集中在极端的反什叶派宗派主义上，而不是西方的“异教徒”，伊斯兰国的缔造者们能够把自己塑造成他们眼中伊拉克陷入困境的逊尼派“国家”的救世主。它在摩苏尔以及在主要的宗派城市中取得的创新和利用策略的成功。
通过超越伊斯兰国经常令人不快的时事，处于战争状态的哈里发对该组织的成功进行了必要的调查，以更好地了解该运动是如何生存、繁荣和重塑中东的。
The Caliphate at War: Operational Realities and Innovations of the Islamic State
The military victories of the Islamic State have completely overturned the geopolitical map of the Middle East. Media attention has focused almost exclusively on Islamic State’s savage treatment of its enemies and its ability to attract foreign fighters. In 2011, the first effort to build an Islamic State in Iraq was defeated by US and Iraqi forces. The second attempt to establish themselves, beginning in 2014, has been considerably more successful and that success calls for deeper investigation.
In order to explain the successes of Islamic State, The Caliphate at War brings together a dispassionate and objective account of the significant innovations in insurgency, ideology, and governance. By focusing their ideology first and foremost on extreme anti-Shia sectarianism – rather than on Western “infidels” – the Islamic State’s founders are able to present themselves as the saviors of what they see as the embattled Sunni “nation” in Iraq. Its success in taking and holding major cities, including Mosul, demonstrates its innovative tactics and skill at exploiting tribal and sectarian rivalries.
By going beyond the often starkly unpleasant current affairs of the Islamic State, The Caliphate at War undertakes an essential investigation into the successes of the group, to better understand how the movement is surviving, thriving, and reshaping the Middle East.
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