Briefing Papers

Briefing Paper 1 - The Islamic State's Discourse

This short briefing reviews IS’ newsletter and magazines. It intends to shed light on some of the repetitive patterns and themes that occur in IS’s utterances, and set them into a broader religious and political context

• Islamic State’s Discourse: Some Repeated Patterns

Briefing Paper 2 - Islamic State's religious perspectives on Iran

This short briefing reviews IS’ newsletter and magazines.

• Islamic State’s Religious Perspectives on Iran

Briefing Paper 3 - Jordan in the eyes of the Islamic State

This short briefing paper discusses IS’ view of the Royal family and the government of Jordan.

• Jordan in the Eyes of Islamic State

Briefing Paper 4 - Islamic State’s political perspectives on Iran

This short briefing paper discusses IS’ political perspectives on the Iranian regime.

• Islamic State’s Political Perspectives on Iran 

Briefing Paper 5 - Syria in the eyes of Islamic State

This short briefing paper discusses IS’ view of the government of Syria.

• Syria in the Eyes of Islamic State 

Briefing Paper 6 - Islamic State’s views on the Muslim Brotherhood

This short briefing reviews IS’ newsletter and magazines.

• Islamic State’s Perspective on the Muslim Brotherhood

Briefing Paper 7 - An Analysis of Al-Baghdadi's 26 August 2019 Audio Message

This article analyses the latest speech of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the self-proclaimed Caliph of the Islamic State (IS). The audio message was released for the Muslim Eid celebration, after nearly a year since al-Baghdadi’s last audio message and while several reports speculated on his death. This is the longest public speech recorded by al-Baghdadi, the previous ones never exceeded half an hour.

• An Analysis of Al-Baghdadi’s 26 August 2019 Audio Message 

Briefing Paper 8 - Iraq in the Eyes of the Islamic State

This short briefing paper discusses IS’ view of Iraq, its government and Kurdish population.

• Iraq in the Eyes of the Islamic State 

Briefing Paper 9 - IS' View om the Free Syrian Army (FSA)

This short briefing paper is the first of a series of four papers that will discuss IS’ view on the Syrian military battlefield. This paper will be followed by three briefing papers on the group’s perspective on the Syrian Kurdish factions, the Sunni Sahwat and the Jihadi Nusra Front.

• Islamic State’s Perspectives on the Free Syrian Army

Briefing Paper 10 - EU Geopolitics and the Mediterranean

This briefing outlines the findings from Work Package 2 of the Horizon2020 funded MedReset programme.

• MedReset Policy Briefing: EU Geopolitics and the Mediterranean