Craig Whiteside
Biographic Data
| ID | 3086718 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Craig Whiteside |
| GIVEN NAMES | Craig |
| FAMILY NAME | Whiteside |
| SIGNATURE | WHITESIDE C |
| AFFILIATIONS | Naval War College |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-4094-7173 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 10 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 14 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 10 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2015 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Non-state campaigning: Islamic State’s guerrilla warfare doctrine
We trace the influences and evolution of Islamic State's guerrilla warfare doctrine, how it fits into a larger insurgency strategy, and how its military leaders sequenced the employment of military forces in time and space to achieve operational and strategic effects in its patient and successful campaign to establish its so-called caliphate in 2014. Applying Mao's three phases of guerrilla warfare, we used a database of Islamic State movement at…
Jihadi Politics: The Global Jihadi Civil War, 2014–2019
The conflict between Islamic State and al-Qaʿida is the most consequential development regarding Islamist movements in the post-2001 period, with evidence of sustained fighting in Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Egypt, Libya, Nigeria, the Sahel, and Afghanistan. While many have commented on the violent rivalry, no one has situated this jihadist infighting in a broader context until now. Tore Hamming’s ambitious Jihadi Politics expands our understanding of…
State Accompli: The Political Consolidation of the Islamic State Prior to the Caliphate
This study examines the successful consolidation of the Islamic State movement within the Sunni insurgency in Iraq from 2003 to 2014. We rely on insurgent media releases, captured documents, and a declassified U.S. military study of the Sunni insurgency in Anbar to evaluate the Islamic State movement’s complex relationship with its Sunni Arab rivals. We found the group moved through sequential stages of cooperative, competitive, and coercive cons…
The Isis Reader: Milestone Texts of the Islamic State Movement
In the wake of its "Caliphate" declaration in 2014, the self-described Islamic State has been the focus of countless academic papers, government studies, media commentaries and documentaries. Despite all this attention, persistent myths continue to shape--and misdirect--public understanding and strategic policy decisions. A significant factor in this trend has been a strong disinclination to engage critically with Islamic State's speeches and wri…
Accidental ethnographers: The Islamic State's tribal engagement experiment
The disillusionment with U.S.-led counter insurgent efforts to gain a deeper understanding of social dynamics in countries with extensive tribal structures has led to a rejection of programs aimed to improve cultural competency. The Islamic State movement does not share this perception, and its strategists blamed its early failures during the U.S. occupation on a flawed understanding of tribal dynamics. This paper traces the political, ideologica…
Black Ops: Islamic State and Innovation in Irregular Warfare
This paper studies non-state militant group emulation and development of a special operation capability that stands in stark contrast to the normal repertoire of guerilla and terror tactics. Building on evidence of one well-documented Islamic State attack in 2012 that fit many of the criteria of a special operation, we analyzed the mission using concepts from strategic studies to understand the decision-making behind it. We then expanded our sear…
Illusions of Victory: The Anbar Awakening and the Rise of the Islamic State
The legend of the Iraq Surge, and its corresponding and interrelated twin, the Sunni Awakening (Sahwa in Arabic), is firmly ensconced in US military lore. In fact, the Awakening part is often left out. For example, General David Petraeus, the commander of this military campaign who ably turned around a failing effort, recently described it this way: “coalition and Iraqi forces largely destroyed al-Qaeda in Iraq (ISIS’ forerunner) and the associat…
The Islamic State and the Return of Revolutionary Warfare
The rise of the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) is not well understood at this point. This paper starts by comparing the Islamic State to the Vietnamese communists in a revolutionary warfare framework and makes a causal argument that the Islamic State's defeat of the Sahwa (Awakening) movement in Iraq was the key to its successful establishment of control of most Sunni areas and the mobilization of its population for support. Islamic State operational …
The Islamic State and the Return of Revolutionary Warfare
The rise of the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) is not well understood at this point. This paper starts by comparing the Islamic State to the Vietnamese communists in a revolutionary warfare framework and makes a causal argument that the Islamic State’s defeat of the Sahwa (Awakening) movement in Iraq was the key to its successful establishment of control of most Sunni areas and the mobilization of its population for support. Islamic State operational …
A case for terrorism as genocide in an era of weakened states
Genocide is often linked to the rise of the nation state, although it is clear that it has existed as long as warfare itself. The Armenian genocide and the Jewish Holocaust are examples of attempts by states to kill off specific sub-populations based on their identity. The advent of globalization, the rise of non-state actors, and the weakening of the state have opened the door to a new phenomenon: terrorism as genocide. Since 2003, the Islamic S…
Accidental ethnographers: The Islamic State's tribal engagement experiment
The disillusionment with U.S.-led counter insurgent efforts to gain a deeper understanding of social dynamics in countries with extensive tribal structures has led to a rejection of programs aimed to improve cultural competency. The Islamic State movement does not share this perception, and its strategists blamed its early failures during the U.S. occupation on a flawed understanding of tribal dynamics. This paper traces the political, ideologica…
The Islamic State and the Return of Revolutionary Warfare
The rise of the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) is not well understood at this point. This paper starts by comparing the Islamic State to the Vietnamese communists in a revolutionary warfare framework and makes a causal argument that the Islamic State’s defeat of the Sahwa (Awakening) movement in Iraq was the key to its successful establishment of control of most Sunni areas and the mobilization of its population for support. Islamic State operational …
State Accompli: The Political Consolidation of the Islamic State Prior to the Caliphate
This study examines the successful consolidation of the Islamic State movement within the Sunni insurgency in Iraq from 2003 to 2014. We rely on insurgent media releases, captured documents, and a declassified U.S. military study of the Sunni insurgency in Anbar to evaluate the Islamic State movement’s complex relationship with its Sunni Arab rivals. We found the group moved through sequential stages of cooperative, competitive, and coercive cons…
Non-state campaigning: Islamic State’s guerrilla warfare doctrine
We trace the influences and evolution of Islamic State's guerrilla warfare doctrine, how it fits into a larger insurgency strategy, and how its military leaders sequenced the employment of military forces in time and space to achieve operational and strategic effects in its patient and successful campaign to establish its so-called caliphate in 2014. Applying Mao's three phases of guerrilla warfare, we used a database of Islamic State movement at…
Black Ops: Islamic State and Innovation in Irregular Warfare
This paper studies non-state militant group emulation and development of a special operation capability that stands in stark contrast to the normal repertoire of guerilla and terror tactics. Building on evidence of one well-documented Islamic State attack in 2012 that fit many of the criteria of a special operation, we analyzed the mission using concepts from strategic studies to understand the decision-making behind it. We then expanded our sear…
A case for terrorism as genocide in an era of weakened states
Genocide is often linked to the rise of the nation state, although it is clear that it has existed as long as warfare itself. The Armenian genocide and the Jewish Holocaust are examples of attempts by states to kill off specific sub-populations based on their identity. The advent of globalization, the rise of non-state actors, and the weakening of the state have opened the door to a new phenomenon: terrorism as genocide. Since 2003, the Islamic S…
A case for terrorism as genocide in an era of weakened states
Genocide is often linked to the rise of the nation state, although it is clear that it has existed as long as warfare itself. The Armenian genocide and the Jewish Holocaust are examples of attempts by states to kill off specific sub-populations based on their identity. The advent of globalization, the rise of non-state actors, and the weakening of the state have opened the door to a new phenomenon: terrorism as genocide. Since 2003, the Islamic S…
The Islamic State and the Return of Revolutionary Warfare
The rise of the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) is not well understood at this point. This paper starts by comparing the Islamic State to the Vietnamese communists in a revolutionary warfare framework and makes a causal argument that the Islamic State’s defeat of the Sahwa (Awakening) movement in Iraq was the key to its successful establishment of control of most Sunni areas and the mobilization of its population for support. Islamic State operational …
The Islamic State and the Return of Revolutionary Warfare
The rise of the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) is not well understood at this point. This paper starts by comparing the Islamic State to the Vietnamese communists in a revolutionary warfare framework and makes a causal argument that the Islamic State's defeat of the Sahwa (Awakening) movement in Iraq was the key to its successful establishment of control of most Sunni areas and the mobilization of its population for support. Islamic State operational …
Illusions of Victory: The Anbar Awakening and the Rise of the Islamic State
The legend of the Iraq Surge, and its corresponding and interrelated twin, the Sunni Awakening (Sahwa in Arabic), is firmly ensconced in US military lore. In fact, the Awakening part is often left out. For example, General David Petraeus, the commander of this military campaign who ably turned around a failing effort, recently described it this way: “coalition and Iraqi forces largely destroyed al-Qaeda in Iraq (ISIS’ forerunner) and the associat…
Black Ops: Islamic State and Innovation in Irregular Warfare
This paper studies non-state militant group emulation and development of a special operation capability that stands in stark contrast to the normal repertoire of guerilla and terror tactics. Building on evidence of one well-documented Islamic State attack in 2012 that fit many of the criteria of a special operation, we analyzed the mission using concepts from strategic studies to understand the decision-making behind it. We then expanded our sear…
The Isis Reader: Milestone Texts of the Islamic State Movement
In the wake of its "Caliphate" declaration in 2014, the self-described Islamic State has been the focus of countless academic papers, government studies, media commentaries and documentaries. Despite all this attention, persistent myths continue to shape--and misdirect--public understanding and strategic policy decisions. A significant factor in this trend has been a strong disinclination to engage critically with Islamic State's speeches and wri…
Accidental ethnographers: The Islamic State's tribal engagement experiment
The disillusionment with U.S.-led counter insurgent efforts to gain a deeper understanding of social dynamics in countries with extensive tribal structures has led to a rejection of programs aimed to improve cultural competency. The Islamic State movement does not share this perception, and its strategists blamed its early failures during the U.S. occupation on a flawed understanding of tribal dynamics. This paper traces the political, ideologica…
State Accompli: The Political Consolidation of the Islamic State Prior to the Caliphate
This study examines the successful consolidation of the Islamic State movement within the Sunni insurgency in Iraq from 2003 to 2014. We rely on insurgent media releases, captured documents, and a declassified U.S. military study of the Sunni insurgency in Anbar to evaluate the Islamic State movement’s complex relationship with its Sunni Arab rivals. We found the group moved through sequential stages of cooperative, competitive, and coercive cons…
Jihadi Politics: The Global Jihadi Civil War, 2014–2019
The conflict between Islamic State and al-Qaʿida is the most consequential development regarding Islamist movements in the post-2001 period, with evidence of sustained fighting in Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Egypt, Libya, Nigeria, the Sahel, and Afghanistan. While many have commented on the violent rivalry, no one has situated this jihadist infighting in a broader context until now. Tore Hamming’s ambitious Jihadi Politics expands our understanding of…
Non-state campaigning: Islamic State’s guerrilla warfare doctrine
We trace the influences and evolution of Islamic State's guerrilla warfare doctrine, how it fits into a larger insurgency strategy, and how its military leaders sequenced the employment of military forces in time and space to achieve operational and strategic effects in its patient and successful campaign to establish its so-called caliphate in 2014. Applying Mao's three phases of guerrilla warfare, we used a database of Islamic State movement at…
Political science (10 works) · Islam (9 works) · Law (9 works) · Politics (9 works) · Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence (9 works) · History (8 works) · Sociology (6 works) · Archaeology (5 works) · Computer Science (5 works) · Insurgency (5 works)