ISIS_Governance
ISIS_Governance
ISIS_Governance
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
Executive Summary<br />
Middle East Security Report 22 | <strong>ISIS</strong> <strong>Governance</strong> in Syria | Charles C. Caris & Samuel reynolds | july 2014<br />
eliminating resistance, but this in turn places technical skills that are essential to run modern cities in<br />
shorter supply. In the process of establishing its governance project, <strong>ISIS</strong> has dismantled state institutions<br />
without replacing them with sustainable alternatives. The immediate provision of aid and electricity, for<br />
example, does not translate into the creation of a durable economy. The consequence of <strong>ISIS</strong>’s failure,<br />
however, may not be the dismantling of the Caliphate, but rather the devastation of the cities and systems<br />
that comprise Iraq and Syria such that they never recover.<br />
Thus far in Syria, <strong>ISIS</strong> has provided a relative measure of organization in a chaotic environment. This may<br />
prompt assessments which overstate <strong>ISIS</strong>’s efficacy in conducting state functions. Though <strong>ISIS</strong> certainly<br />
has demonstrated intent to commit resources to governance activities, it is yet to demonstrate the capacity<br />
for the long-term planning of state institutions and processes. Translating broad military expansions from<br />
the summer of 2013 into a well-governed contiguous zone will be <strong>ISIS</strong>’s most daunting task yet, and may<br />
prove to be a critical vulnerability.<br />
www.Understandingwar.org<br />
5