The Islamic State and world disorder: How the jihadist organization is challenging the international society

Abstract

The Islamic State can be regarded as a unique jihadist actor, as it aims to disrupt world order and destroy the international society of States by taking the form of one of its members. This paper examines how the inter-State society has responded to this threat. To do so it considers both the formal, legal rules of the international society as well as its informal, sociological ones. It will be argued that the legal justification usually used against the Islamic State is not intrinsically legal but grounded on intersubjective perceptions of legitimacy. This is because the identity of the Islamic State collides head-on with the collective identity of the international society and its model for world order, based on Westphalian principles. Hence, taking an approach that combines the English School and the constructivist postulates, it is concluded that the international society needs to destroy the Islamic State not only as a reality but also as an idea. Finally, three scenarios for the future of the Islamic State are proposed.