The Problematic Concept of Sovereignty Within the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS or Daesh) was established on June 29, 2014. The ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi declared the creation of a caliphate stretching from Aleppo in Syria to Diyala in Iraq. By 2017 most of its territories were lost including the two bastions Mosul (in Iraq) and Raqqa (in Syria). Then in 2019 finally ISIS was defeated in the city of Baghouz, its last holdout. This study will examine the concept of sovereignty within the establishment of the caliphate from 2014 up to now. Al Baghdadi announced a new state based on Sharia Islamic laws and principles. Nevertheless, the international community rejected this newly formed entity which was one of the compulsory conditions for a state to receive recognition. ISIS ceased to exist in 2019 and is now functioning only through its affiliates in other parts of the world. They try to constitute a permanent presence in some areas like the Sahel in Africa or the Khorasan province in Central Asia. The research will compare the initial strategy of having sovereignty by ISIS in the beginning with the one today as viewed by its branches. The hypothesis put forth is that ISIS has always had problems with achieving sovereignty, back in 2014 and even now. Therefore, the local units pursue other strategies such as suicide attempts, bombings, and guerrilla warfare and have abandoned the initial purpose of territorial expansion.