The Status of State in International Law under the Prism of the Islamic State Case Public International Law The Status of State in International Law under the Prism of the Islamic State Case (original) (raw)

The Self-Proclaimed Statehood of the Islamic State between 2014 and 2017 and International Law

From 2014 to 2017, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria has been considered one of the most serions threats to the entired world. In order to provide a lawful response against this threat, it is necessary to verify whether the Islamic State is actually a State. The concept of State is still at the centre of the contemporary international legal order, but there is not a general consensus about the elements that constitute a State under international law, and the conditions pursuant to which international personality is conferred to an entity claiming statehood. Accordingly, it can be useful to examine both the factual bases of the Islamic State and its legal entitlement to aspire to become an independent State under international law. From this enquiry, at the moment the Islamic State appears not to be a State in light of international law, but rather a group of insurgents with a territorial basis.

Is the Islamic State a 'State' in International Law?

The twenty-first century will see new difficulties for international law as it struggles to come to terms with how it deals with non-state actors and belligerent states. The issues surrounding the formation of the Islamic State and its declaration of statehood represents a prime example of the challenges of applying old doctrines to an ever-changing world. ‘Though in recent decades a proliferation of non-state actors has changed the landscape of the international community, the state itself remains a critical component of international law and international relations’. This paper seeks to establish the legality, or otherwise, of the declaration of statehood by Islamic State in 2014.

Is ISIS a State? The Status of Statehood in the Age of Terror

2018

This Essay considers the definitional challenge posed by the Islamic State’s State-like attributes and suggests a new approach to recognizing sovereignty within the meaning of international law. The dual factors I set forth—respect and observance of fundamental human rights in territory controlled by the candidate State and acceptance of the sovereign co-existence of other States— are intended to reframe traditional analyses of the Montevideo Convention. This piece draws upon recent scholarship, judicial decisions, and diplomatic practices surrounding recognition of would-be States to identify a form of human rights minimalism and acknowledgment of the international order that may usefully inform debates concerning potential future sovereigns. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 37 I. MONTEVIDEO’S LIMITATIONS .......................................................................... 40 A. A Minimal Standar...

Is the Islamic State a " state " according to international law with a foreign policy of its own?

Paper submitted for the master course of Foreign Policy Analysis, 2016

Several appellants have been used by the international community to call the self-proclaimed Islamic State: ISIS, IS, ISIL and Daesh. This fact remarks not only an evolution in perceiving what the IS stands for, but also in its capacity to acquire power in terms of "soft" and "hard" power. With regards to its roots, puplic opinion tends to assimilate the terrorist group of IS to Al Qaeda because of its radicalism and its violent rhetoric towards the West, losing sight of the inherent differences that permeate its characteristics and its mission. The hypothesis set is whether the IS can be consider a State according to international law. In order to falsify the hypothesis, relevant and consistent analysis have been made. This paper, therefore, will explore the historical roots and peculiarities of the IS, its propaganda, strategies and missions which differentiates it by other groups. Relevant theories of International Relations, social media's opinions and presidential speeches of Obama and Hollande will be examined through a macro-perspective. In conclusion, the IS is not a State in respect with International law because the criteria requested to formally be a State are not met. Nevertheless, the IS plays a certain role in the international scenario as an international actor that is doing a state-building through the use of force and violence.

Islamic State as Pseudo-state in the Middle East

Islamic State as Pseudo-state in the Middle East, 2017

This paper will examine whether Islamic State (IS) can be perceived as non-state armed group (NSAG) or as a pseudo-state in the Middle East in 2014 and until today. Doing this, this paper is based on the theoretical framework set by Benedetta Berti’s thesis, that IS can be seen as a hybrid NSAG, and Max Weber’s definition of state. This point of departure is the basis for the analysis of whether IS can be perceived as a pseudo-state, which in the paper is indicated that it can be perceived as in 2014, but to a lesser degree today. It is also indicated that Berti’s thesis is correct to a certain extent in 2014 but at a higher degree today. Likewise, the point of departure is the basis for the discussion of whether we can perceive IS as a pseudo-state today due to its curtailment in recent years. The assumption being that it could be seen as a pseudo-state in 2014, but due to its curtailment it could not. Throughout the discussion it is shown that this assumption is correct and that the NSAG-term is more adequate. The paper is concluded with the findings that IS can be perceived more as a pseudo-state than a non-state armed group in 2014 but due to its curtailment, the conceptualization has reversed today. It is also stated that the conceptualization of IS has developed in the recent years from terming IS a terrorist organization to more of a significant non-state actor.

Islamic State as Legal Order

2022

This book explores the legal dimension of the Islamic State, an aspect which has hitherto been neglected in the literature. ISIS' dystopian experience, intended as a short-lived territorial and political governance, has been analyzed from multiple points of view, including the geopolitical, social and religious ones.

An Alternative Vision of Statehood: Islamic State's Ideological Challenge to the Nation-State

This study contributes to efforts to theorize contemporary challenges to the nation-state as a normative governance unit through an analysis of Islamic State's state ideology. It is argued that, by reinterpreting concepts from Islamic history, IS puts forth a religiously motivated, post-national state ideology. Based on an interdisciplinary reading of Dabiq magazine, the de facto official IS publication between 2014 and 2016, three concepts emerge as foundational in the group's state ideology: imamah (leadership), hijrah (migration), and bay'a (allegiance). The study sheds light on the enduring ideology of Islamic State, despite its territorial defeat.