Islamic terrorism, the consequence of foreign intervention in the Muslim world : the cases of ASL and ISIS

Abstract

Although there is significant available literature on the study of the origins of Islamic-inspired terrorism, little is known about the origins of the Islamic State in Syria, and Ansar Sharia in Libya, and this is a gap that this study will attempt to fill. In addition, the two existing streams of IR theory on terrorism: Traditionalism and CTS lack analytical and problem-solving power, respectively. This study, therefore, will attempt to synthesize insights from both schools of thought to overcome their weaknesses and combine their strengths. This study aims to explain the origins of Islamic terrorism by using the narrative approach to collect data and process tracing and the organizational theory as a methodology. This study argues that foreign intervention, whether direct or indirect, in the Muslim World, causes state breakdown and subsequent failures in the areas of economy, defense, and ideology, leading to the rise of terrorist groups. This study only focuses on two case studies that are rarely investigated: the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), with a focus on Syria, and Ansar Al-Sharia in Libya (ASL). The results show that indirect foreign intervention of the United States and Russia in Syria in 2011 onward led to the social construction of sectarianism in the country, turning the Arab Spring into a sectarian civil war. This latter would lead to the state deconstruction that would lead to the creation of different insurgent groups, including ISIS. The direct military intervention of NATO in Libya in 2011 would lead to the transformation of the Arab Spring into the First Libyan Civil War, causing the dissolution of different state institutions, including the army, and creating different militia groups, among which is ASL.