Al-Qaeda and Its Heirs

On December 9, 2014, the Jamestown Foundation organized the Eighth Annual Terrorism Conference. This report contains eight papers from presenters at the conference. Michael W. S. Ryan leads with “The Islamic State: What Victory Means.” Nicholas A. Heras then discusses “Swimming in a Turbulent Sea? Non-State Threats to the Islamic State.” Murad Batal al-Shishani explains “The Political Economy of Islamic State and Its Financial Resources.” “Islamic State’s Threat to the Kurds in Syria and Northern Iraq” is addressed by Wladimir van Wilgenburg. Ahmed S. Hashim covers “The Islamic State: From al-Qaeda Affiliate to Caliphate.” Adel El-Adawy writes on “The Need for an Effective and Comprehensive Counter-Terrorism Strategy in Combatting Regional Jihadism: The View from Cairo.” This is followed with Dario Cristiani’s analysis of “Libya’s Descent into Chaos: Warring Clans and Its Impact on Regional Stability.” Jacob Zenn concludes with “Boko Haram, Islamic State and the Archipelago Strategy.”